Jian Ghomeshi Trial
After many months of accusations, the widely-publicized case of the Crown vs Jian Ghomeshi has come to a close. Judge William Horkins, of the Ontario Court of Justice, presented the verdict last Thursday- Mr. Ghomeshi is to be cleared of all charges.
This would be the final verdict for the trial where Mr. Ghomeshi and his defence lawyer Marie Henein combatted the allegations of four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking. Throughout the case, the three witnesses were pegged as being “unreliable” and “deceptive”. Lucy DeCoutere, an actress, was the only complainant whose name was allowed to be released by the media. She, as did a total of eight other women, recall going on a date with Mr. Ghomeshi and being assaulted, slapped and being exposed to violent intimacy. As the case became more prominent, more women lodged complaints of assault that originated from as far back as 2002.
It were these complaints that were attacked by defence lawyer and judge, appearing in the closing statement of the case as being unwitnessed and being unable to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. It was questioned as to why these accusations were being voiced so long after the alleged assaults, why they were brought to the attention of the media before the police and why the sworn evidence was changing. L. R., a complainant whose full name was never divulged to the media, stated that Mr. Ghomeshi had assaulted her in a yellow Volkswagen; yet said vehicle was not purchased by the defence until seven months after the specified date of the assault. Both L. R. and Ms. DeCoutere had emailed erotic images of themselves on separate occasions to the accused. Overall, the judge deemed that there was insufficient evidence to convict Mr. Ghomeshi and the charges were dismissed.
Jian Ghomeshi leaving the courthouse with his lawyer, Marie Henein
For a time, protesters have gathered outside the Courts and in various other cities in an attempt to deter the ruling that would eventually arrive. The Twitter hashtag #IBelieveSurvivors was tagged in over 13,000 tweets while demonstrators contested statements made by the judge such as the “dangerous false assumption that sexual assault complainants are always truthful.” For rallying against the modern culture of ignoring the pleas of the abused against powerful public figures, some of the protesters were handcuffed and removed by police. Fearlessly, the protesters continued to renounce blaming those who were victimized. Some chanted, “Ghomeshi guilty! Ghomeshi guilty!”
This trial is over, but the demonstrations continue- a new trial is set for June. In this trial, Ghomeshi is accused by a fellow CBC employee. There is only one known victim, yet the multiple assaults that took place in 2008 have witnesses. There are more who have knowledge of this series of events. Official documents in the possession of the CBC note Ghomeshi as being habitually flirtatious with other employees. While the outcome for this upcoming case cannot be known, the protesters will stoically continue and the implications on both the CBC and Mr. Ghomeshi may prove to be interesting.
Photo credit: thestar.com