Defamation trial begins for author Steven Galloway over sexual assault claims

Analysis

A trial began Monday in B.C. Supreme Court where author and former professor Steven Galloway says he was defamed by false accusations of sexual assault.

The defendants in the suit, including his accuser known only as A.B., took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming their accusations were protected speech.

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The high court refused to hear the case last year, clearing the way for this week's trial.

"I am genuinely sorry for the part I played in causing that harm," said defendant Chelsea Rooney in a lengthy apology issued over the weekend.

Apology cites profound harm

Rooney's statement said she communicated serious and unproven allegations against Galloway and was involved in collecting complaints in an attempt to build a case against him.

"I recognize that statements and communications about allegations of this nature can cause profound harm to a person’s reputation, work, personal life, and family, and did in fact do so to Mr. Galloway. I deeply regret my role in contributing to the harm Mr. Galloway has suffered in this regard," her statement said.

Much of the apology appeared in the National Post on Saturday and the entire statement is posted on a website along with eight other apologies from those who say they regret communications or actions that accused Galloway of sexual assault.

Rooney said she recognizes the communications she circulated caused others to believe they were true, and she’s aware Galloway firmly denies he sexually assaulted A.B.

She said she should not have listened only to one side, or allowed that understanding to shape her communications and tweets.

I should not have listened only to one side, or allowed that one-sided understanding to shape my communications, my tweets, or my participation in the process.

Rooney said Galloway considered her a friend before the allegations and on multiple occasions went out of his way to help her, with nothing asked in return.

"In my 2014 book, I thanked him as someone ‘who encouraged me to commit to writing at a very important time in my life.’ That was a true statement," her apology said.

Legal battle reaches courtroom

Galloway was a tenured professor and the chair of the creative writing program at the University of British Columbia when rumours swirled and spread online that he had assaulted one of his students.

He was never charged, but was fired.

A report commissioned by the university and produced by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd concluded the accusations against Galloway were unsubstantiated.

Galloway sued numerous people in 2018, alleging he was defamed with false sexual assault allegations by fellow professors, a former student and others who repeated the statements on social media and elsewhere.

Rooney is among the defendants who fought the defamation case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming the accusations of sexual assault must be protected speech, true or not, and "regardless of the circumstances in which the statement was published."

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elaine Adair said in a 2021 ruling that if the defendants' arguments were true, "there would be no legal consequences of any kind" to publicly calling someone a rapist.

It is difficult to see how something so extreme and potentially reckless would be in the public interest.

Galloway's lawyer, Dan Burnett, said in an interview after the high court's ruling that his client’s "reputation and life were devastated by the criminal allegations."

Burnett could not be immediately reached for comment on Saturday.

Accusations and aftermath

The apology is the latest occurrence in what began as an accusation against Galloway in November 2015.

Galloway is the author of novels including “The Cellist of Sarajevo” and “The Confabulist.”

Rooney said in her statement she has reflected on Galloway’s steadfast efforts over the years and she has come to better understand the basis for his position and his commitment to clearing his name and reputation.

"I know that nothing I say now can undo the harm or give back the years affected by these events," her apology said.

She added that because she didn’t know the allegations were true, she should not have communicated them or posted them publicly on social media.

The trial is expected to continue in B.C. Supreme Court.

With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News and CityNews