As the trial of a man accused of seven counts of sexual assault began in Victoria on Monday, women took the stand to describe how they felt something sprayed on them as they walked downtown and noticed that their tights are disintegrating.

Two women and a teenager testified Monday morning in the trial of Sean James O’Reilly, who pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sexual assault related to incidents that occurred between Nov. 17, 2022, and Dec. 29, 2022.

Crown prosecutor Mark Feldthusen said in opening statements that the court will hear seven women had a hot liquid splashed on their legs in six separate incidents in central Victoria. The liquid caused their nylon to disintegrate, revealing some of their skin underneath, he said.

Some women said they felt a burning or itching sensation, which went away fairly quickly and caused no lasting injury, Feldthusen said.

Feldthusen said it was proven in the trial that O’Reilly was responsible for the incidents and that he determined the assaults were sexual in nature.

The Crown plans to call as witnesses the seven women, whose identities are protected by a publication ban, and three officers who investigated the incidents.

The first woman to testify described walking south on Douglas Street, near View Street, after leaving work on November 17, 2022, when she felt a splash on the back of her legs and a “sharp stinging” sensation.

“It felt like I had been sprayed with a spray bottle or a spray gun, with wet droplets hitting the back of my legs,” she said.

When she touched the backs of her legs to see if they were wet, her hands were covered in a sticky, black residue, the woman testified.

She realized her tights were disintegrating. Small holes appeared in the tights and the material became more transparent, while her legs were black from the residue, she said.

The stinging and burning sensation increased and she was unable to wash her feet with paper towels and water, so she rushed to her partner’s apartment to shower.

After she cleaned the residue off her legs, the burning sensation stopped, she testified.

A teenage girl also testified about a similar experience on November 23, 2022. She said she felt a splash and didn’t know what it was. Her legs began to tingle and her tights began to disintegrate.

She was in shock and called a friend shortly after to talk about the incident. The friend told her mother, who contacted the girl’s father. When she got home, her father called the police.

Those who testified Monday morning described not being sure what happened to them.

Under questioning, the first woman said she was initially unsure if the incident was serious enough to report to the police.

“I felt like maybe I didn’t have enough information to be. … I wasn’t sure if someone sprayed me or not,” she said.

She said she spoke to police after seeing a news story about similar incidents downtown. Realizing it appeared to be a recurring incident, she decided it was worth reporting, she said.

No evidence was given on Monday about the liquid involved.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

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