Complainant recounts alleged attack in Kelowna sexual assault trial
Published 6:03 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2026
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WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society at (250) 763-4613 or the RCMP.
The trial for a Kelowna man charged with one count of sexual assault stemming from a reported incident in 2021 began in a Supreme Court in Kelowna on Sept. 15.
Brandon Hildebrand Acosta is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her home in the early morning of Nov. 20, 2021.
The victim testified on day two of the trial, Sept. 16, before Justice Richard Hewson. The identity of the complainant is protected under a publication ban, and she will be referred to as J.D.
The complainant took the stand on Wednesday and told the court that on the night of Nov. 19, 2021, she had gone out to a bar in downtown Kelowna with her roommate and other friends. Before going downtown, the complainant said she had two to three standard alcoholic beverages and a line of cocaine at her apartment.
The complainant took a cab with one of her friends to Social 242 on Lawrence Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Her roommate and other friends took a second cab, and everyone met up outside the bar. While standing in line, J.D.’s roommate spoke with the accused, who was alone, and invited him to join the friends in line.
J.D. told the court she had previously met Hildebrand Acosta at various parties during the summer and fall of 2021, but had not conversed one-on-one before this night.
Hildebrand Acosta, the complainant, her roommate and their friends were shown to a table inside the bar by staff at about 11 p.m. J.D. stated she had a brief conversation with the accused while seated at a table. She noted that she snorted more cocaine and had more alcohol while at Social 242.
The group, including both J.D. and the accused, decided to go to the Liquid Zoo at about 12:30 a.m. The complainant stated she had one more alcoholic beverage at the Liquid Zoo before the bar closed at 2 a.m.
J.D. told the court she and her roommate often hosted people after a night out, and about seven people came back to her apartment to continue partying, including the accused.
Once at her apartment, J.D. said she went into her room with one of her female friends, changed out of jeans and put on sweatpants before rejoining the group in the kitchen.
The group continued to drink and used the remainder of the cocaine while playing beer pong around the kitchen island. At this time, two additional people arrived at the apartment, but the complainant said these were individuals she did not know at the time.
In her testimony, the J.D. said people started leaving her apartment around 5:30 a.m. Remaining at the apartment were J.D. Hildebrand Acosta, her roommate and one other person, all talking in the living room. About 30 minutes later, J.D. said her roommate went to bed, closing her bedroom door, and the other friend left her apartment.
J.D. said she was a nicotine vape user at the time. After everyone but the accused had left, the complainant said she went to her room to fill up her vaping device with vape juice. While seated next to her bed and nightstand, J.D. said Hildebrand Acosta came into her room and sat on the floor across from her.
The court heard the pair talked for about an hour and 30 minutes about personal life.
J.D. stated at that time she was getting tired. She told the court that Hildebrand Acosta said they could take a cab to get more cocaine he had at his house and she agreed.
J.D. went to her closet to grab a hoodie and offered sweatpants and a hoodie to Hildebrand Acosta. The complainant said she sat on the floor of her bedroom using a phone application to book a cab while Hildebrand Acosta changed into the clothes she had given him. J.D. told the court she did not watch the accused change, but noted the clothes he had been previously wearing were in a pile on her bedroom floor.
Around 7:30 a.m., J.D. and Hildebrand Acosta took a cab to his place of residence. The complainant explained she remained in the car while the accused went inside. J.D. recalled having a conversation with the taxi driver in an attempt to keep herself awake.
The court heard that Hildebrand Acosta returned to the cab and the pair went back to J.D.’s apartment.
Once back in her home, J.D. said she went straight into the bathroom to take off her makeup and get ready for bed, closing the door behind her but not locking it.
After an estimated five minutes, J.D. said Hildebrand Acosta entered the bathroom and sat on the counter facing her. Details of what occurred over approximately four minutes inside the bathroom were deemed inadmissible as evidence presented during a voir dire prior to the accused’s trial.
Upon exiting the bathroom, J.D. told the court she noticed a plate in the kitchen with four lines of cocaine. Sitting in the kitchen, J.D. said she attempted to snort a line of cocaine, but her nose was stuffed up from snorting the drug earlier in the night. She testified that very little of the drug went up her nose.
Feeling bad, the two had just returned from getting more cocaine, J.D. testified that she avoided making eye contact with the accused as she stood up around 8:45 a.m., told him she was going to bed, and then entered her bedroom alone, closing the door behind her.
J.D. said she fell asleep very quickly, still wearing the sweatpants and hoodie she had put on after the night out. The court heard J.D. fell asleep on her right side and on the right side of the bed.
The complainant then testified she was awoken to someone lying down on the bed behind her.
J.D. told the court she felt a hand pulling at the waistband of her sweatpants, eventually pulling her pants and underwear down to her mid-thighs.
Fighting tears as she recalled the events of the alleged assault, J.D. said the room was quiet; she felt confused as to what was happening and “my body instantly froze.”
J.D. then described feeling a hand lift her butt cheek and the person “penetrated her from behind.” It was noted that J.D. had an IUD and had a tampon inserted at the time due to period spotting.
Crown counsel Catherine Rezansoff clarified with the complainant that the penetration was vaginal.
J.D. explained she felt scared and was unsure how the person would react if they knew she was awake or if she confronted him, so she kept her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.
The complainant estimated the person penetrated her with a consistent rhythm for about 15 minutes before it stopped abruptly. J.D. said she felt the person move away from her slightly, but he was still on the bed. Out of fear, she continued to fake sleeping.
About five minutes later, J.D. estimated, the person moved closer to her again and repeated the same actions as before. This time, the victim estimated the penetration lasted about 10 to 15 minutes, speeding up the rhythm of penetration before stopping abruptly again.
Still pretending to be asleep, J.D. testified she felt the person get up from her bed after about five minutes. She then heard the kitchen faucet running and someone open the fridge. Scared, but believing the person was no longer in her bedroom, J.D. opened her eyes and noticed her bedroom door was open and Hildebrand Acosta’s clothes from the night before were still in a pile on the floor.
Telling the court she wasn’t ready to confront the situation as she felt it “wasn’t safe,” J.D. said she pulled her comforter up to her waist to cover her exposed midsection, but didn’t want to pull the blanket up too high in such a way as the person would notice. She then closed her eyes again and continued to fake sleeping.
J.D. said she heard Hildebrand Acosta talking on the phone with someone in a casual tone for about five minutes. With her eyes still closed, the complainant said she then heard someone come into her bedroom and then leave again. J.D. told the court she heard someone put their shoes on, the door to her apartment open and then shut, and the apartment was silent.
Rezansoff asked the complainant who she believed sexually assaulted her, to which J.D. replied “Brandon”, referring to the accused.
The complainant explained she believed the person to be Hildebrand Acosta, because he had been the only person in her apartment, aside from herself and her female roommate, at the time she had gone to bed. J.D. also commented on having seen Hildebrand Acosta’s clothes still on her bedroom floor after the alleged assault.
The trial for Hildebrand Acosta is expected to continue through the week.
This is the third start to the sexual assault trial for the accused. A mistrial was declared on July 19, 2024, more than a week into the case. A new start date was set for Sept. 29, 2025; however, the accused failed to show for his jury trial. The matter was adjourned to Oct. 1, 2025, but again Hildebrand Acosta was not present.
In June 2026, Hildebrand Acosta applied to retain his right to a jury trial, however, Justice Hewson dismissed the application.