Former Canadian radio star found not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking in first trial to emerge from barrage of allegations

Former Canadian radio star Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted of all charges in the first trial to emerge from the barrage of allegations against the prominent celebrity.

After more than a month of deliberation, Judge William Horkins on Thursday found Ghomeshi, 48, not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking, dating back to 2002 and 2003.



Horkins said prosecutors had failed to establish Ghomeshi’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and highlighted inconsistencies in the testimonies of the three female complainants.

The judge said that the crown’s case relied solely on the word of the witnesses. “There is no other evidence to look to determine the truth. There is no tangible evidence. There is no DNA. There is no ‘smoking gun’,” he said.

The Ghomeshi case was one of the country’s most high-profile trials in recent memory, and it sparked a national conversation on consent and sexual assault – and prompted fresh questions over the justice system’s ability to address allegations of sexual violence.

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Those who work with sexual assault survivors said that Thursday’s decision would have a chilling effect on victims’ willingness to come forward.

When they first emerged in the fall of 2014, the accusations stunned the country. Ghomeshi was a rising star at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, celebrated for his thoughtful interviews and socially progressive views.

Eventually more than 20 women came forward with allegations of being slapped, punched, bitten, choked or smothered by the radio host.



Ghomeshi denied the accusations, pleading not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and another of choking to overcome resistance.

Delivering his verdict, Horkins stressed the acquittal was not the same as asserting the events in question never happened. But he said that in the course of the trial it became clear that each witness was “less than full and frank and forthcoming” in their statements to media, police and the court.





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In his decision Horkins said that “my conclusion that the evidence in this case raises a reasonable doubt is not the same as deciding in any positive way that these events never happened”.

Moments after the judge read his decision, the three complainants left the courtroom with tears in their eyes.



Ghomeshi’s mother and sister, who attended every day of the eight-day trial, hugged each other and Ghomeshi and embraced with his defense lawyer Marie Henein.

Outside the courtroom, Ghomeshi’s sister Jila read a brief statement from his family. “We are relieved but not surprised by the court decision today. It can only be surprising to those who rushed to judgment before the trial had started and before a single word of evidence had been heard,” she said.

As Ghomeshi and his legal team left the courtroom, a group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse chanting: “We believe survivors.”

Michael Callaghan, the crown prosecutor, told reporters that he and his team would take the weekend to look at the judgment and consider their position. “We just received the judgment,” he said, noting that they have 30 days to appeal against the ruling.

Callaghan’s remarks were interrupted by a topless protester who jumped in front of him, yelling “Ghomeshi’s guilty”. Police quickly tackled the woman to the ground.

Jacob Jesin, the lawyer for one of the complainants, read a statement on behalf of his client, who thanked those who supported her during the trial. “I always understood that a conviction would be difficult,” she said in her statement. “The story may not have passed the high legal test for proof (but) it remains my position that the evidence of the substantive issues is truthful.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jian Ghomeshi leaves court after getting bail on multiple counts of sexual assault in 2014. Photograph: Mark Blinch/Reuters

It took Horkin more than an hour to read out his 25-page judgment. In explaining his decision, the judge pointed to the evidence of the three complainants. “Each complainant demonstrated, to some degree, a willingness to ignore their oath to tell the truth on more than one occasion. It is this aspect of their evidence that is most troubling to the court.”

The judge said the evidence provided by the first complainant – who alleged Ghomeshi forcefully pulled her hair and struck her multiple times on the side of the head in two separate encounters – had initially seemed rational and balanced.

But Horkin said that the value of her evidence “suffered irreparable damage” when she was “exposed as a witness willing to withhold relevant information” from the police and the court. “It is clear that she deliberately breached her oath to tell the truth. Her value as a reliable witness is diminished accordingly.”

In the case of the second complainant, identified as Lucy DeCoutere after she waived a publication ban on her identity, the judge pointed to inconsistencies in what she told the court and media about allegations that Ghomeshi choked her and slapped her without consent. “It suggests a degree of carelessness with the truth that diminishes the general reliability of the witness,” the judge said.

In the case of the third complainant, who testified that Ghomeshi began roughly squeezing her neck as they were kissing on a park bench, the judge pointed to her revelation that she had engaged in sexual activity with Ghomeshi after the alleged assault.

She had previously told crown counsel that she had tried to keep her distance from Ghomeshi after the alleged assault, meeting with him only in public, said the judge. “In assessing the credibility of a witness, the active suppression of the truth will be as damaging to their reliability as a direct lie under oath,” said the judge.

He also pointed to the exchange of some 5,000 emails between her and DeCoutere after the allegations against Ghomeshi became public, some of which discussed strategies to use in pursuing charges against Ghomeshi. While the women’s “extreme dedication to bringing down Mr Ghomeshi” could reflect the legitimate feelings of victims of abuse, the judge said it raised the need for the court to proceed with caution.

Lenore Lukasik-Foss, of the Hamilton Sexual Assault Centre, said she was shocked by the ruling, which was laced with words such as “deception” and “manipulative”.

“The kind of language and the examples he was using just demonstrates his complete lack of knowledge around sexual violence and dynamics around abuse that happens between folks who are known to each other,” she said.

Lukasik-Foss said her centre had already seen an uptick in the number of survivors reaching out for support in the wake of the decision. “It’s a pretty bleak day.”

The high-profile trial gave Canadians an unprecedented glimpse into how the justice system deals with allegations of sexual assault. The portrait that emerged for many was of a flawed system riddled with challenges for complainants, said Lukasik-Foss.

“I want rigorous defense. But we see that this is not a system that is equipped to deal with sexual violence,” she said.

The trial also underlined the gap between a victim’s memory of traumatic events and the demands of the criminal justice system, said Nicole Pietsch, of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres. Many survivors of sexual trauma attempt to repress their memory, only to face intense questioning – often months or years later – when their case reaches trial.

“Most of us can’t recall what we wore to an event last week,” she said.

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Asked about the case in a television interview, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to comment but when asked about worries that the verdict may discourage survivors from coming forward in the future, he noted, “I think these are the kinds of discussions we need to be having as a society that values and has respect for women.”

Others were more outspoken: Toronto city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said that the verdict “would not in any way undermine or repudiate the reality” of the complainants’ experiences.

In a statement addressing the three women, she said: “We believe you – and we thank you for inspiring us with your courage by coming forward to tell your story and to fight for the belief that no matter how many years have passed, or how wealthy or well-respected the abuser is, sexual violence will not be tolerated in Canada.”

Ghomeshi now faces a second trial in June, stemming from allegations that he touched the buttocks of a former CBC employee and said to her: “I want to hate-fuck you.”

Managers of CBC apologised last year to their employees and audience after a damning report concluded they knew of Ghomeshi’s inappropriate behaviour but chose to instead protect the popular radio host.

The public broadcaster said that Thursday’s verdict would have no impact on its decision to fire Ghomeshi in 2014. “We stand by this decision.”