Journalist suing Furlong wrote letter claiming he abused dozens of children
A freelance journalist suing former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong for defamation penned a handwritten letter claiming Furlong had abused more than 40 First Nations students at a northern British Columbia school, the trial has heard.
Former 2010 Games spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade told B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday she was “stunned” when Laura Robinson handed her a lengthy note during a chance encounter at a Toronto airport in April 2013. The note alleged Furlong’s actions at Immaculata Elementary School in Burns Lake, B.C., had resulted in at least one suicide.
“She invites me to be an offthe-record interview for her,” said Smith-Valade, looking down at a piece of photocopied paper held in her hands. “She said, ‘I’m hoping you will consider this option to go off the record as a way of being a member of the human race.’ ”
Smith-Valade said she immediately handed the letter over to Furlong’s lawyers after landing in Vancouver.
Robinson is suing Furlong for defamation based on public comments he made after she published a newspaper article in September 2012.
The article included affidavits from eight former First Nations students and alleged Furlong physically and verbally abused the children while working as a gym teacher at the Roman Catholic school. Furlong has vehemently denied all allegations of abuse, none of which have been proven in court.
Cpl. Quinton Mackie led the RCMP investigation into allegations of sexual assault levelled against Furlong by former student Beverly Abraham in July 2012.
He told the trial on Wednesday that Abraham alleged Furlong had “touched her” on three occasions while she was an 11-yearold day student at Immaculata school.
Mackie said both a lack of evidence and inconsistencies in Abraham’s reports led him to close his investigation in April 2013.
“She was troubled,” Mackie said, responding to a question from Robinson’s lawyer about whether he believed Abraham had been abused. “To this day I believe she has had a very hard life. I don’t know the extent of that.”
The file remained open for another half-year while a pair of external police investigators from Alberta reviewed Mackie’s examination alongside another RCMP probe into general complaints police had received about historic cases of general abuse at the school.
Both investigations wrapped up in December without recommending criminal charges.
The former principal of Immaculata Elementary School also testified on Wednesday and defended Furlong’s character.
Closing arguments are expected to take place on Friday.