A Brampton woman and business owner who recently accused Brampton wards 9 and 10 Coun. Gurpreet Dhillon of sexual misconduct during a recent trade delegation to Turkey has revealed the details of the alleged incident.

Dhillon denied all allegations in an emailed statement on Dec. 17 and said “at no time” did he “participate in any inappropriate conduct” while on the trade mission.

The city said it was made aware of the allegations and officials forwarded them to both Peel police and the city’s integrity commissioner for investigation.

The Guardian has chosen to withhold the name of the alleged victim, whose attorney Michael A. Moon of Moon Rozier LPC told the Brampton Guardian the incident occurred in her room at a hotel in Turkey on Nov. 14 during a Canada-Turkey Business Council trade delegation both his client and Dhillon attended.

“A city council member attended at her room and tried to sexually assault her. She resisted forcibly. At least part of the whole incident is captured on an audio file where my client is telling him under no uncertain terms that she wants to be left alone and that he should leave. He did ultimately leave,” alleged Moon.

“It did not involve penetration, but it did involve … the attempted forcible removal of clothing with my client protesting,” Moon alleged, adding that his client used her cellphone to capture audio.

The Guardian attempted to contact Dhillon by email and phone for comment on these latest details of the alleged incident. Justin Safayeni, from the law firm Stockwoods LLP which is representing Dhillon, issued an emailed statement in response.

“Mr. Dhillon adamantly denies the allegations referred to in your email, which are completely baseless,” he said in the email.

Moon said his client reported the incident to Canadian authorities in Turkey, as well as to Peel police and Mayor Patrick Brown shortly after her return to Canada. He said Peel police conducted a video interview and she spoke to the mayor directly.

“Canada foreign affairs were contacted — or at least representatives from the Canadian Mission in Turkey were contacted — (and) nothing was really done. She was not taken to a hospital. Back in Canada, any investigation that might have been carried out seems to have withered and died on the vine,” Moon said. “She’s spoken to police. No charges have been laid.”

“She’s retained us because she’s fearful that there may be some degree of political interference trying to stop the charges from coming to light,” he said. “Like I said, she has spoken to the police and nothing has happened.”

According Const. Brancroft Wright, Peel police were made aware of the allegation. However, because the alleged incident took place in Turkey, the information gathered by Peel police has been forwarded to authorities in that country.

“Peel Regional Police are aware of the allegation, the incident occurred in Turkey outside of Peel Police jurisdiction. All information provided by the complainant has been passed on to the Turkish police,” wrote Peel police in an emailed statement.

In his statement, Dhillon noted another individual with a similar name had been arrested on criminal charges the councillor did not detail and this arrest has led to baseless rumours.

“Recently, it has come to my attention that an individual with a similar name and age to me, from Brampton, was recently arrested on criminal charges and appeared before court. This has led to mistaken identity and baseless rumours against me. I want to take this opportunity to unequivocally make clear that I have never been charged, arrested, or been under investigation,” he said.

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Moon said this statement by Dhillon didn’t make much sense in relation to his client’s allegations.

“He attacked my client. She knows who he is. She didn’t mistake him for somebody else,” he alleged. “It may be more compelling — although probably not — if this alter ego was in Turkey at the same time as him.”

Graeme Frisque is a reporter for Mississauga News and Brampton Guardian. Reach him via email: gfrisque@metroland.com

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