Canadian media star Jian Ghomeshi enjoyed a minor victory on Tuesday when crown prosecutors withdrew two charges of sexual assault against him.
Crown prosecutor Mike Callaghan told a pre-hearing in court that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction on either charge, which related to incidents that took place in 2002 and 2003. Ghomeshi is still facing five other charges of sexual assault and one of choking in connection, following complaints over his behaviour during his tenure as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s top radio host.
His lawyer, Marie Henein, has said that Ghomeshi will plead not guilty to all charges.
The defence also gained a potentially valuable reprieve as prosecutors also confirmed that Ghomeshi’s trial will not come to court before the end of the year. Two trials will take place, according to Callaghan, one beginning in February 2016, and the second in June.
The lengthening timeline and diminishing charges suggest Henein is relying on the same strategy she used to clear another notorious client, a provincial cabinet minister accused of killing a cyclist in a road-rage incident. Conducting intensive research that she shared openly with prosecutors, Henein undermined the case so thoroughly that the politician, Michael Bryant, was never brought to trial.
Ghomeshi lost his job after attempting to defend himself against mounting accusations of sexual misconduct, confessing on Facebook and to his employers that he enjoyed hitting women and that the practice should not be repressed.
Ghomeshi claimed he only engages in sex acts that “are mutually agreed upon, consensual, and exciting for both partners”. The CBC fired him when its star host, apparently attempting to support the contention, voluntarily showed executives video of a badly battered sex partner.
Several other former partners emerged to file complaints in the aftermath, all alleging similar-seeming incidents of Ghomeshi launching surprise physical attacks before or during intimate encounters. The first woman to accuse Ghomeshi publicly was actress Lucy DeCoutere, best known for her role in the TV comedy Trailer Park Boys, currently a captain in the Royal Canadian Air Force, who is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.
Ghomeshi grabbed her by the throat, choked her and slapped her across the face at his apartment following a first dinner date, DeCoutere told CBC Radio listeners.
“When it came from smooching to smacking, there was no build-up,” she said. “I didn’t tell him to stop because I was so surprised, I was really gobsmacked.”
