Jian Ghomeshi has been arrested by the Toronto Police Service on four charges of sexual assault and one of "Overcome Resistance - Choking."
Yesterday, the disgraced former CBC host dropped his $55 million smokescreen lawsuit against his former employer, seemingly taking advantage of a nation outraged by the Ferguson verdict to quietly fade into the background. Maybe he just knew what was coming.
According to the release sent out this morning (with the almost comically understated headline "Man charged in Sexual Assault investigation, Faces five charges") the police began their investigation of Ghomeshi on October, 31. Today (Wednesday, November 26), he surrendered to the police. He'll appear in court this afternoon.
Ghomeshi was fired from his job as host of the CBC show Q back in October, setting in motion a domino of allegations (by The Toronto Star's last count, 9 women and one man) claiming he had sexually assaulted them. He first tried to get ahead of the story with a now-infamous open letter on his Facebook page, but as the story unfolded he became quieter and quieter, first claiming he would "meet these allegations directly," before eventually deleting his Facebook and Twitter pages.
Today's court appearance will be his first public appearance since his firing. He was originally set to appear at musician Amanda Palmer's Toronto book launch last night, but she eventually came to her senses and cancelled his presence at the event. He was replaced as host of the Giller Prize by Rick Mercer.
The Ghomeshi case has followed a frustrating pattern of public opinion familiar to high-profile sexual assault allegations (it's currently happening again with Bill Cosby). Fans of the media personality (then the face of the CBC) were quick to believe him, and even as more and more women came forward to corroborate each other and paint a disturbing pattern of behaviour, the same questions continued to be raised by his defenders: Why won't they use their names? Why didn't they say anything at the time? Why won't they go to the police?
And even though there are a litany of reasons why, statistically, the overwhelming majority of sexual assaults go unreported (a black-and-white legal system that puts the burden of proof on victims, institutionalized sexism, pervasive rape culture), a series of women, led by Trailer Park Boys actress Lucy DeCoutere, have courageously answered all of those doubts head on. Meanwhile, both the CBC and the Canadian media industry as a while are forced to reckon with a culture that allows this kind of behaviour to continue and perpetuate.
UPDATE: According to CBC, Jian Ghomeshi has been granted $100,000 bail under condition that he reside with his mother, hands over his passport, and must remain in Canada. According to Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Doolittle, his next court date is set for January 8.
Jian Ghomeshi Arrested for Sexual Assault by Richard Trapunski | Chart Attack.
