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| Jian Ghomeshi, Canadian Radio Host, Charged With Sexual Assault | Jian Ghomeshi, Canadian Radio Host, Charged With Sexual Assault |
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| OTTAWA — One of Canada’s best-known radio hosts, Jian Ghomeshi, was arrested on Wednesday by the Toronto police and charged with sexual assault. The arrest came a month after the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation fired Mr. Ghomeshi, saying managers had seen “graphic evidence” that he had injured a woman. | |
| After Mr. Ghomeshi was abruptly removed in late October as the host of “Q,” a daily arts and entertainment program on the CBC’s main radio network, several women said they had been assaulted by him physically and sexually but had been reluctant to come forward. Their allegations quickly set off a wider debate in Canada about the unwillingness of many women to report sexual assaults to the police. | |
| The case also raised questions about whether managers at the CBC, which is owned by the government, were unwilling or unable to rein in celebrity hosts — questions that echoed the case of the British television personalty Jimmy Savile and the BBC. | The case also raised questions about whether managers at the CBC, which is owned by the government, were unwilling or unable to rein in celebrity hosts — questions that echoed the case of the British television personalty Jimmy Savile and the BBC. |
| At least three women are believed to have formally complained to the Toronto police about Mr. Ghomeshi. In a statement, the police said he had been charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance through choking. He appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon and was released on bail of 100,000 Canadian dollars ($89,000); his lawyer indicated after the hearing that Mr. Ghomeshi would plead not guilty, but otherwise declined to comment. | |
| Journalists working on an article about Mr. Ghomeshi for The Toronto Star contacted the CBC, seeking a response to allegations that he had assaulted several women in the course of sexual encounters. In October Mr. Ghomeshi tried to persuade his managers that he had done nothing wrong by providing them with emails, photographs and other materials, but those materials instead led them to dismiss him. | Journalists working on an article about Mr. Ghomeshi for The Toronto Star contacted the CBC, seeking a response to allegations that he had assaulted several women in the course of sexual encounters. In October Mr. Ghomeshi tried to persuade his managers that he had done nothing wrong by providing them with emails, photographs and other materials, but those materials instead led them to dismiss him. |
| The Toronto Star published its article shortly afterward, saying that with several women, Mr. Ghomeshi had been “physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters.” The newspaper reported that he had “struck them with a closed fist or open hand; bit them; choked them until they almost passed out; covered their nose and mouth so that they had difficulty breathing; and that they were verbally abused during and after sex.” | The Toronto Star published its article shortly afterward, saying that with several women, Mr. Ghomeshi had been “physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters.” The newspaper reported that he had “struck them with a closed fist or open hand; bit them; choked them until they almost passed out; covered their nose and mouth so that they had difficulty breathing; and that they were verbally abused during and after sex.” |
| In a Facebook post that has since been removed, Mr. Ghomeshi, 47, said his firing had been the result of a vendetta by a woman in “her late 20s” who was angry after he ended their relationship. In the post, Mr. Ghomeshi said that he enjoyed sex he described as being “a mild form of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ ” and that any interaction he had with women was with their consent. | In a Facebook post that has since been removed, Mr. Ghomeshi, 47, said his firing had been the result of a vendetta by a woman in “her late 20s” who was angry after he ended their relationship. In the post, Mr. Ghomeshi said that he enjoyed sex he described as being “a mild form of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ ” and that any interaction he had with women was with their consent. |
| The women who have since come forward to the police have all denied giving Mr. Ghomeshi permission to assault them. Several legal experts have said that under Canadian law, whether a victim has given consent makes no difference in the culpability of an assailant. | The women who have since come forward to the police have all denied giving Mr. Ghomeshi permission to assault them. Several legal experts have said that under Canadian law, whether a victim has given consent makes no difference in the culpability of an assailant. |
| Mr. Ghomeshi hired a public relations firm to try to deal with the scandal, but it has since dropped him as a client. He filed suit against the CBC over his dismissal, but he withdrew that suit on Tuesday and agreed to reimburse the network for its legal costs in relation to the suit. The CBC reported that he was still contesting his firing through a union grievance. |