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Former CBC producer Kathryn Borel makes a statement after a charge of sexual assault against Jian Ghomeshi was withdrawn. The Star’s Kevin Donovan reports from Old City Hall.(The Toronto Star)
A charge of sexual assault against Jian Ghomeshi was withdrawn on Wednesday after the former CBC broadcaster apologized to a former colleague in court and signed a peace bond.
Ghomeshi, 48, stood before a judge and read an apology to Kathryn Borel for his “sexually inappropriate behaviour” in the workplace.
“I now recognize that I crossed boundaries inappropriately,” Ghomeshi said, speaking in the court for the first time since entering his not-guilty plea. “I didn’t appreciate the damage that I caused… the incident was thoughtless and I was insensitive to her perspective and how demeaning my conduct was towards her.”
JUST WHAT WAS SAID: Transcript of Jian Ghomeshi’s apology
The court heard that while they were working late at the office one night in 2008 Ghomeshi approached Borel from behind as she leaned over her , “held her waist and pressed his pelvis back and forth repeatedly into her buttocks” while they were both fully clothed, according to the facts supporting the peace bond. The incident lasted several seconds.
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Ghomeshi’s lawyer Marie Henein told the court a peace bond does not mean an admission of guilt or wrongdoing. It also does not result in a criminal record. Ghomeshi must “keep the peace and be of good behaviour” for a year, the peace bond states. He must also not contact Borel directly or indirectly and must not possess any weapons.
Crown prosecutor Mike Callaghan told the court that the apology and Ghomeshi’s acceptance of responsibility were critical to the resolution by way of a peace bond, a resolution reached over the last few weeks during discussions between the Crown and defence.
“By apologizing for his actions, Mr. Ghomeshi publicly accepts responsibility for them. Public acknowledgment of a harm done to Ms. Borel is valuable consequence of the resolution, not only from the perspective of the complainant but also from the perspective of the public,” Callaghan said.
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“Mr. Ghomeshi’s apology is demonstrative of his progress and provides assurance that he will not engage in similar conduct in future, which is a significant consideration in relation to public interest.”
He said Borel, who had the publication ban on her identity lifted Wednesday morning, was supportive of the resolution. The police were also supportive, he said.
Kathryn Borel makes a statement outside court on Wednesday about Jian Ghomeshi's conduct.
Ontario Court Justice Timothy Lipson, the senior justice for the Toronto region, said he was satisfied the complainant has reasonable grounds to fear Mr. Ghomeshi would cause personal injury to her and ordered the peace bond.
“I understand the complainant in this case had significant input into this resolution,” he said. “I conducted a number of judicial pre-trials with counsel and I wish to commend both the Crown and defence for their efforts in reaching this resolution, which I consider to be entirely reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances of this case.”
Borel was a producer at Ghomeshi’s CBC arts and culture radio show Q from 2007 to 2010. In interviews, she has described a pattern of sexual harassment and emotional abuse by Ghomeshi, from unsolicited back rubs to grabbing her rear end.
Outside the court, she noted that “more than 20 other women who have come forward to the media and made serious allegations about his violent behaviour,” and said the case wouldn’t be over for her “until he admits to everything he’s done.”
JUST WHAT WAS SAID: Transcript of Kathryn Borel’s statement
“Up until recently, I didn’t even internalize that what he was doing to my body was sexual assault,” Borel told reporters. “Because when I went to the CBC for help, what I received in return was a directive that yes, he could do this, and yes, it was my job to let him.
“The relentless message to me, from my celebrity boss and from the national institution we worked for were that his whims were more important than my humanity or my dignity. So I came to accept this. I came to believe it was his right. But when I spoke to the police at the end of 2014, and detailed my experiences with Mr. Ghomeshi, they confirmed that what he did to me was, in fact, sexual assault.
“And that is what Jian Ghomeshi just apologized for: the crime of sexual assault.”
A five-day trial on the sexual assault charge was scheduled for June 6.
Ghomeshi was acquitted on four counts of sexual assault and one of choking after another trial in February. All the alleged incidents involved intimate situations, two at Ghomeshi’s home.
In a scathing ruling, Ontario Court Justice William Horkins found the three complainants had their credibility and reliability too damaged in cross-examination by Ghomeshi’s lawyer Marie Henein for their testimony about the alleged sexual assaults to be relied on.
Ghomeshi was initially charged with seven counts of sexual assault and one count of choking to overcome resistance. Two sexual assault charges were dropped prior to the first trial.
Outside the court, Cynamin Maxwell, who was demonstrating on behalf of the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre, said she felt Ghomeshi's apology was “contrived.”
“I don't know if there’s any realness behind it other than for show,” she said, adding that the apology may just be an attempt to win the public back.
Maria Olaya, who also works at the centre, said even though the court dropped the charges Ghomeshi will still have to live with his conscience.
“I honestly hope he doesn’t get another job,” said Olaya. “I hope the doors close on him.”
Maxwell said if Ghomeshi finds a job in the media even the sound of his voice could “re-traumatize” survivors of sexual violence.”
Standing on the steps of Old City Hall, Linda Redgrave, who was one of the complainants in Ghomeshi’s trial last winter, said she wishes he had apologized to her.
“I would like to hear him admit that he did what he did and I would like to know why,” she said, adding that she expects he never will.
She said on Wednesday he only admitted what he’d done “by force” and to avoid a trial.
Asked what she thought about Ghomeshi losing his livelihood, she said, “He brought that on himself.”
Redgrave said by throwing out the charges, the court sent a message to women that “you get sexually harassed in the workplace and it's not worth bothering to report it.”
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