Jian Ghomeshi arrested
Following weeks of allegation and speculation, Jian Ghomeshi was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 25, in Toronto. He faces charges of four counts of sexual assault, and one count of “overcome resistance – choking.”
Ghomeshi has denied all allegations against him, and appeared in court early Wednesday afternoon.
According to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, a “number of people have come forward” against Ghomeshi. Blair stated that “all updates that will subsequently come with respect to that investigation will come from our sex crimes unit.”
“We encourage victims of any sexual assault to come forward, and I want to offer them my assurance they will be treated with dignity and with respect,” said Blair. “It’s also important to recognize that it’s their choice, and we respect their choice.”
News of Ghomeshi’s arrest comes shortly after it was announced that Ghomeshi would be withdrawing his $55-million lawsuit against his former employer, the CBC. Ghomeshi must still pay $18,000 in legal fees incurred by the CBC.
“The suit is being withdrawn with costs in favour of CBC,” said Chuck Thompson, a CBC spokesman. “He’s getting nothing.”
The Jian Ghomeshi story came to light on Oct. 27, after Ghomeshi posted a lengthy post to the popular social networking website Facebook, explaining his recent firing from the CBC. Ghomeshi’s initial defence was that an ex-girlfriend had launched a “campaign of harassment, vengeance, and demonization” against him.
Since then, several women have come out against Ghomeshi, and on Nov. 1, three women had filed complaints with police.
-Compiled by Sameer Chhabra