The sensational sexual assault trial of a former RCMP spokesperson really boils down to a simple case of a woman who was sexually assaulted at work, the Crown counsel in the case told provincial court.

The victim was a full-time civilian employee working in the unit headed up by retired Inspector Tim Shields who endured repeated sexual harassment culminating in an incident in a washroom in the former Vancouver RCMP headquarters, said Michelle Booker.

“In the weeks leading up to a managerial review in that unit in the fall of 2009, Mr. Shields sexually assaulted her in a locked washroom at E Division HQ,” Booker told the court.

“He did so by kissing her, touching her breasts, exposing himself, touching her hand and placing her hand on his exposed penis,” she said.

It’s the first time the criminal allegations have been laid out in open court, at the outset of Shields’s trial in Vancouver Provincial Court.

Shields arrived in the afternoon flanked by two lawyers, including David Butcher. He didn’t respond to questions as he walked into the courthouse. One lawyer said he would address the allegations once inside the court, though it wasn't clear if Shields intended to testify.

The RCMP has said it first learned of the allegations against Shields through a lawsuit filed by another employee in 2013, but an internal code of conduct investigation didn’t turn up sufficient evidence to proceed.

Another probe that involved major crime investigators was launched after new information came to light in the next year, which resulted in Shields’s sexual assault charge.

The high-ranking Mountie was suspended with pay in the midst of the investigation, in May 2015. In December, he resigned from the force.

The first witness in the trial is Sgt. Jeff Wong, who took photos of the shuttered E Division HQ in May of 2015.

“I was told this was a sensitive investigation conducted by professional standards,” Wong told the court.

Shields, wearing a suit, sat in a chair in the courtroom, following the exhibits being discussed by witnesses and taking notes.