CBC Radio Host Jian Ghomeshi Acquitted of Sexual Assault Charges

Jian Ghomeshi, former CBC Radio host, was acquitted this morning of sexual assault charges.

This morning, a Canadian court judge acquitted former CBC Radio host, Jian Ghomeshi, of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking. Ghomeshi, a relatively large figure in the Canadian indie music scene, was charged in 2014 for these incidents, which occurred in 2002 and 2003.

The judge's main reasoning behind the acquittal was the "inconsistencies" in the accounts of the alleged victims. "At the end of this trial, a reasonable doubt exists because it is impossible to determine, with any acceptable degree of certainty or comfort, what is true and what is false." However, these "inconsistencies" seemed, at times, trivial and unassuming, such as "...whether she was wearing hair extensions of the kind of car that Ghomeshi drove." Other inconsistencies that were cited included how all of the women involved in the case contacted Ghomeshi after the sexual assaults had occurred, as well as one woman who engaged in consensual sex with Ghomeshi after her assault. With this disclosure, the judge remarked how he saw her as "playing chicken" with the justice system, and how "she was prepared tot tell half the truth for as long as she thought she might get away with it."

The judge did go on to remark that, while the evidence brings with it a reasonable doubt, "it is not the same as deciding in any positive way that these events never happened." However, I find beyond a reasonable doubt that this verdict, as well as a majority of the trial itself, was based on victim blaming, rape myths, and a lack of definition about what constitutes sexual assault. The inconsistencies that the judge brought forth are, in my opinion, negligible: not knowing a perpetrator's car should in no way make one's testimony questionable. Similarly, a justice of the peace, particularly one who is overseeing a relatively high-profile sexual assault trial, should have a clear definition of what constitutes sexual assault, and how consent at a later date is not applicable to earlier incidents. However, in a court of law where reasonable doubt drives the verdicts, inconsistencies in a case like this will, unfortunately, make for a quick trial.

Jian Ghomeshi still faces another charge of sexual assault, with that trial scheduled for June.

Sources: http://n.pr/1Roo87F; http://bit.ly/1PtxBsd