Rcmp Says Investigation into Abuse Allegations against Former Olympics CEO John Furlong Not over

Toronto Star
October 29, 2013

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/10/29/rcmp_says_investigation_into_abuse_allegations_against_former_olympics_ceo_john_furlong_not_over.html

John Furlong, shown in this 2007 file photo, broke his silence about abuse allegations Tuesday, Oct. 29, saying he is stepping up his legal action against accuser Laura Robinson. Meanwhile, he has dropped legal action against the Georgia Straight newspaper.

Former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong broke his silence Tuesday about accusations that he abused students at a school in northern British Columbia four decades ago.

Releasing a statement that said “enough is enough,” Furlong declared that he has been cleared by the RCMP and that he is stepping up legal action against his accuser while dropping civil action against the newspaper that printed the story.

However, the RCMP has confirmed to the Toronto Star that the investigative file remains open.

When the investigation was completed, the RCMP asked for an independent review by major crime investigators from another province because of the serious and sensitive nature of the allegations, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Rob Vermeulen said.

“That review resulted in a number of investigative recommendations that we continue to follow up on,” he said in an email. “Our overall file remains open at this time.”

He would not comment further because there are multiple civil actions underway.

This past July, former students Beverly Abraham and Grace West filed separate lawsuits against Furlong alleging sexual abuse, and a third lawsuit was filed last month by a man who said he, too, was sexually abused.

Laura Robinson wrote a story for the Georgia Straight newspaper last September, which included allegations from eight former students who claimed Furlong was physically and verbally abusive while he was a volunteer teacher in B.C. in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The story also suggested Furlong hid details of his past, particularly the story of his arrival to Canada, in his memoir “Patriot Hearts.”

In his statement, Furlong said he has both written and verbal confirmation that the RCMP has cleared him.

Although he criticized the newspaper for publishing the story, which he called “reckless,” Furlong said it is Robinson who is “the source of these lies I wish to pursue.”

He said he will file documents to “expose her questionable tactics” in his legal case against her in the coming days and weeks, adding that Robinson has shown a pattern of inaccuracy in her writing over the years.

In her statement of defence, Robinson alleged that Furlong physically abused a former spouse and sexually assaulted another.

None of the allegations, contained in a statement of defence filed Monday, have been tested in court.

Furlong sued, insisting in a statement of claim filed last November that the story was false and accusing Robinson, a freelance reporter, of waging a personal campaign to discredit him. He held a news conference the day the article was published denying he had ever abused any students.