Trial of former Marine accused in airport sexual assault begins

DENVER — There was dramatic testimony during the first day of a trial for a former Marine who is accused of sexual assault.

Noel Bertrand, 26, is accused of violently raping a woman in an empty terminal at Denver International Airport in April.

Jurors winced at what they heard on the witness stand Tuesday as the alleged victim relived the brutal attack.

They’re the same details she told to FOX31 Denver in an interview months ago.

“He grabbed the back of my hair with his hand that he was holding my neck down with, and pulled my head up and began to slam my head into the floor,” she testified.

The alleged attack continued for more than 20 minutes before two airport mechanics saw what was going on from the tarmac outside the terminal.

Those two mechanics testified in courts Tuesday that Bertrand was first enraged when they intervened, and then they said he told them what was happening was consensual.

The trial in Denver could go to the jury as early as Wednesday.