CANADA
CBC News
By Jason Proctor, CBC News Posted: Dec 23, 2014
A woman who claimed she was abused by John Furlong while he was a teacher in Burns Lake, B.C., has dropped her lawsuit against the former head of the Vancouver Olympic Games.
Beverly Mary Abraham was the most outspoken of three people who filed claims in the wake of a Georgia Straight newspaper article alleging Furlong had mistreated students at Immaculata Roman Catholic School in the late 1960s.
“The reason for it is that it was kind of stressing me out,” Abraham said from her home in Burns Lake. “I’ve been thinking about it for months.”
Justice Miriam Gropper dismissed Abraham’s claim last Friday after she made an application in B.C. Supreme Court. The case was dismissed by consent, without costs to either party. The other two claims continue, but the CBC has learned the lawyer representing both remaining claimants is withdrawing from the lawsuits.
Vehement denial
Furlong has vehemently denied the allegations in all three lawsuits and the newspaper story. He is suing the author of the article, Laura Robinson, but previously dropped a claim against the weekly paper that published the article in September 2012.
His counsel at Hunter Litigation Chambers issued this statement in relation to Abraham:
“Mr. Furlong has always maintained that Ms. Abraham’s claim, as well as the claim of assault by the other two plaintiffs, are false. The dismissal follows the RCMP’s conclusion following an investigation that, ‘Based on the facts uncovered, the allegations made by Beverly Abraham are not supported.'”
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