Jian Ghomeshi not guilty on all charges

Ghomeshi does not seem to be a very good character but this prosecution stank from the beginning.  But the biggest losers were not in court. They are the many victims of sexual assault who now, because of this fiasco, will be more reluctant than ever to come forward.


The lying feminist b*tch herself. Big picture of her here. She's a pretty rough looking bird so may have been attention-seeking

TORONTO - “Outright deception.” “Playing chicken with the justice system.” These are just a couple of the scathing comments Judge William Horkins made as he ripped apart the testimony of the three women who accused former CBC radio star Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault.

The evidence from the three complainants “suffered not just from inconsistencies and questionable behaviour, but was tainted from outright deception,” the judge said Thursday before finding Ghomeshi not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking.

“The bedrock of the Crown’s case is tainted and incapable of supporting any clear determination of the truth,” Horkins said.

The judge said there was no corroborating evidence and no “smoking gun,” just the complainants’ testimony, which he found to be sorely lacking in credibility.

Defence lawyer Marie Henein had cross-examination bombshells waiting for the complainants — information the women hadn’t shared with the police or Crown.

The first complainant testified Ghomeshi suddenly yanked on her hair when they were kissing in his car in late 2002. A few days later, she said he abruptly pulled her hair while they were kissing in his home and punched her in the head.

Court heard she told police she didn’t have further dealings with Ghomeshi except for writing him one e-mail in anger which she couldn’t recall if she sent.

But under cross-examination, she admitted she sent friendly e-mails and a bikini photo of herself to Ghomeshi after the alleged assaults. These e-mails were “bait,” the witness explained, so she could confront her alleged abuser.

The second complainant, actress Lucy DeCoutere of Trailer Park Boys fame, the only woman who can be identified in the case, testified Ghomeshi pushed her against a wall, started choking her and slapping her face when they’d been kissing in his bedroom in the summer of 2003.

During cross-examination, Henein produced an e-mail the actress sent Ghomeshi hours after the alleged assault in which she expressed a desire to have sex with him.

DeCoutere also gave Ghomeshi a hand-written letter that closed with the words: “I love your hands.”

The third woman testified that while she was kissing Ghomeshi on a park bench in 2003 he bit her shoulder and squeezed her neck.

She waited until just before she was scheduled to testify to let authorities know she masturbated Ghomeshi days after she alleges he attacked her.

The judge said he accepted Henein’s “characterization” of the third complainant’s behaviour.

“She was clearly ‘playing chicken’ with the justice system. She was prepared to tell half the truth for as long as she might get away with it,” Horkins said.

In a statement released Thursday evening, Henein’s law firm said the case was determined on the evidence heard in court, “notwithstanding the unprecedented scrutiny and pressure.”

“In our system of justice, that is what must happen in every case regardless of who is accused or what crime is alleged.”

It says it’s been a “very long, exhausting and devastating 16 months” for Ghomeshi.

Prosecutor Michael Callaghan said the Crown will examine the judgment and consider its position.

“As you can imagine, we’re still within the 30-day appeal period,” he said

Original report here


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