Opening statements begin in fourth trial of former bar owner

EVERETT — The woman remembered the night in 2017 starting like any other — whiskey, music and flirting with a man at the Anchor Pub in Everett.

She found herself back at the man’s place down the street, dancing, taking shots, laughing.

Then her friends left.

She was alone with the man later identified as Christian Sayre.

She started making out with Sayre, she testified Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. Her account was the first heard in the fourth trial of Sayre, a former Everett bar owner accused of drugging and sexually assaulting numerous women over nearly a decade.

Both made their way to his bedroom, the woman testified.

What started as consensual sex, she said, gradually became more aggressive on his part, she said on the stand.

Under questioning from deputy prosecutor Martha Saracino, she recalled saying “too much” multiple times. She said she felt pain and tried not to move after attempting to break free.

The woman testified that she did not remember falling asleep. But she said she woke to him sexually assaulting her. She did not immediately go to the police, she said.

She did not immediately go to the police, she said.

“I felt that I would not be believed … I tried to bury it,” she testified Monday.

The woman’s testimony came after opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

“This case is about rape. This case is about sexual assault,” Saracino said in opening statements.

Defense attorneys Piper Salvator and David Roberson represented Sayre before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Millie Judge and a 12-person jury. Of the 12 jurors, three are women. During jury selection last week, numerous women said they could not serve as unbiased jurors due to strong feelings about sexual assault.

Deputy prosecutors Kara Van Slyck and Saracino presented the case on behalf of the state.

“This is a case about four entirely separate false accusations,” Salvator said in the defense’s opening statement. “Each of these accusations involves a different woman, who has a different motive.”

Sayre, who once faced more than 20 sex-related charges, is now standing trial on the final four: three counts of indecent liberties and one count of second-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The charges stem from allegations by four different women, two of whom interacted with Sayre at the Anchor Pub, the Everett bar he once owned.

The woman testified Monday in relation to a May 2017 incident tied to one of the indecent liberties charges.

The woman said she met Sayre at the Anchor Pub — a place she frequented — through a mutual friend and recalled flirting with Sayre before visiting his nearby home with friends. After the others left, she and Sayre began making out.

“They were cuddling on the couch, they were kissing, and they were clearly affectionate,” Salvator said.

Under cross examination, she said she initially intended to sleep with Sayre but became uncomfortable as things escalated. She recalled saying “too much” multiple times but never explicitly said “no” or “stop.” “I did not use a firm ‘no,’” she said.

The woman emailed Detective Susan Logothetti with the Everett Police Department in 2021 after learning police were investigating Sayre.

That September, Logothetti identified and investigated multiple reports of alleged sexual assault involving Sayre. Logothetti testified Monday, confirming her role in the case and that she had interviewed the woman who took the stand.

Opening statements in the fourth trial for Sayre comes after Judge Millie Judge agreed on Aug. 26, 2024, to separate the charges into four proceedings. Juries in all three previous trials found Sayre guilty on each count.

Sayre appeared in court wearing a blue button-down shirt and dark slacks. He appeared unmoved for most of the day, speaking only briefly in whispers with his defense attorneys.

The case is expected to conclude by May 16. Three more women — the alleged victims in the remaining charges — are expected to testify in the next two weeks. A total of 34 witnesses are anticipated to take the stand.

Aspen Anderson: 425-339-3192; aspen.anderson@heraldnet.com; X: @aspenwanderson.