'It hurt really bad': Witness slapped, 'backhanded' and left with black eye by group leader of Burlington mansion, court told

A female witness who was once part of a Burlington commune testified in court on Wednesday that Mohan Jarry" Ahlowalia had physically assaulted her on more than one occasion, with one incident allegedly resulting in a black eye.

The Crown witness told the Burlington court that the accused had backhanded" her while she was working at the family's warehouse on Highway 6.

I remember being very scared. I wasn't sure what to do. I was young. I remember I was crying," she said, noting that she didn't remember the exact reason for the hit, but it could be that she wasn't working fast enough or wasn't doing the job properly.

She also described other moments when Ahlowalia allegedly used force on her, including slapping her for misbehaving and hitting her on top of her head for eating at a neighbour's house.

There was also one incident where the accused held her by the back of her neck and picked her up off the ground after the death of a barn cat, something that Ahlowalia blamed her for, she said.

It hurt really bad," she said.

The witness is the daughter of a woman who previously testified that she endured physical and sexual abuse while living with Ahlowalia from 2004 to December 2019 - first in Oakville and then at a mansion in rural Burlington. Both their identities are protected under a publication ban.

Ahlowalia has pleaded not guilty to all 30 charges, including assault, assault with a weapon, sexual assault and a rash of human trafficking and firearms charges.

During the examination-in-chief by assistant Crown attorney Monica MacKenzie, the witness was also asked to describe the relationship between Ahlowalia and her mother.

The witness said that she felt that Ahlowalia didn't treat her mother as an equal. According to the witness, he would often talk down to her mother and insult her - calling her stupid" and using derogatory terms about women.

I felt like he made her feel like she didn't belong in the family," she said.

Asked if she had ever personally witnessed her mother being subjected to anything demeaning or humiliating," the witness said that she had seen her mother being told to do pushups in front of other family members and stand outside in the cold.

She said she never, however, personally saw Ahlowalia do anything physical toward her mother.

Following the line of questioning from the Crown, defence lawyer Jeffrey Manishen began his cross-examination.

He noted that the witness used the terms slapped" and punched" in relation to the black eye incident during two separate interviews with Halton police in December of 2019 - and that it's now described by the witness as a backhand hit.

The trial continues on Thursday, Oct. 7.