Only for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon’s civil trial for sexual assault opened right now on the Montreal courthouse together with his lawyer portraying him because the scapegoat in a hunt to seek out Quebec’s Harvey Weinstein.
9 ladies who allege they have been assaulted by Rozon are in search of a complete of slightly below $14 million in damages in a case that’s anticipated to sit down till the tip of March 2025.
Get every day Nationwide information
Get the day’s prime information, political, financial, and present affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox as soon as a day.
Considered one of Rozon’s attorneys, Mélanie Morin, informed the courtroom in her opening that Rozon had consensual relations with three of the ladies however he denies any wrongdoing.
She famous that the allegations emerged in the course of the #MeToo motion and mentioned they have been an try to seek out the “Weinstein of Quebec,” referring to the disgraced American film mogul.
The trial earlier than Quebec Superior Court docket Justice Chantal Tremblay is the newest stage in a winding authorized battle that started as a class-action lawsuit however was transformed into particular person fits after a 2020 Quebec Court docket of Attraction ruling.
Bruce Johnston, one of many attorneys representing the plaintiffs, informed Tremblay they intend to show that Rozon was a “actual predator” and requested whether or not it was cheap that every one 9 ladies made up their claims.
In 2020, a Quebec courtroom choose discovered Rozon not responsible on prices of rape and indecent assault linked to occasions alleged to have taken place in 1980.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
Source link
