Scores of people gathered outside a Toronto courthouse on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Canadian broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi after he was charged over alleged sexual assault offending.
Ghomeshi’s first public appearance since the allegations surfaced came hours after he turned himself in to police and was formally charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of “overcome resistance choking”.
Justice Rebecca Rutherford released Ghomeshi on C$100,000 (£56,000) bail to stay with his mother until his trial begins. He then had to make his way out of court to get home – and through the crowd waiting outside.
He rode in the elevator down one floor and emerged, flanked by two of his lawyers, and protected by police officers.
Onlookers yelled abuse at the radio host, with one trying to get through the crowd to Ghomeshi. Meanwhile, around 100 reporters fired questions at the broadcaster. It took him nearly 10 minutes to walk 20 paces before his lawyer, Marie Henein, stopped to address the media.
“Mr Ghomeshi will be pleading not guilty,” Henein said. “We will address these allegations fully and directly in a courtroom. It is not my practice to litigate my cases in the media. This one will be no different. We will say whatever we have to say in a court of law. We will not be making any further media statements nor will Mr Ghomeshi be making any further media statements.”
Ghomeshi, 47, hosted the popular radio show Q, until the CBC fired him on 26 October. A few hours after a short press release by the broadcasting company about the termination, Ghomeshi posted a missive to Facebook describing his affinity for sadomasochistic sex and role playing, adding that a woman was about to go public with allegations of sexual assault.
He was worried about an investigation into his activities by reporters working for the Toronto Star. Later that night, the Star published its investigation, detailing accounts from three women who alleged that Ghomeshi sexually assaulted or beat them. That number swelled in the coming days to nine women and one man.
Toronto police chief Bill Blair then took the unusual step of publicly asking the women to come to police with their allegations against Ghomeshi. Three women did. An investigation began, and charges were laid Wednesday morning. The alleged incidents occurred in 2002 and 2003.
In court on Wednesday afternoon, Ghomeshi sat staring straight ahead. He spoke softly saying “I do” when asked by the judge if he understood the conditions of his release, which include living with his mother and remaining in Ontario. He also had to give up his passport.
Details of evidence heard in court are covered by a suppression order. Two women cannot be named, but a third, Lucy DeCouture, did not request the ban.
DeCouture is an actor known for her role as Lucy in the comedy series Trailer Park Boys. She told the Star that she met Ghomeshi at a television festival in Banff in 2003, and that later, at his home in Toronto, Ghomeshi had “pushed her against the wall, choked her with his hands around her neck, and then slapped her,” the paper reported.
The charges came days after the announcement that Ghomeshi was dropping his C$55m (£31m) lawsuit against his former employer, the Canadian Broadcasting Company. He has reportedly filed a grievance through his union, the Canadian Media Guild.
After the brief court appearance, Ghomeshi made the slow, difficult walk to the exit. Once on Yonge Street, one of Toronto’s main thoroughfares, he got into a waiting minivan to head to his mother’s house.
Ghomeshi is scheduled to return to court on 8 January.