Video files from Lindsay Fitzgerald
Jian Ghomeshi has officially been released on $100,000 bail after surrendering to Toronto police this morning.
The former host of CBC Radio’s Q must give up his passport, cannot leave the country and is not allowed to contact any of the alleged victims. He will be living with his mother, who is acting as surety.
Ghomeshi is being charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcome resistance – choking.
The latter charge carries with it the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Ghomeshi appeared in court at 1 p.m. in room 509 at College Park. The hearing took about 25 minutes while a large media scrum waited outside.
His lawyer, Marie Henien, said that Ghomeshi would defend the allegations in court. Ghomeshi paused for photos but remained silent as he left the courthouse.
His next court appearance is set for Jan. 8, 2015.
Toronto Police Service Sex Crimes started an investigation into Ghomeshi on Oct. 31, 2014. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and the CBC, Ghomeshi’s former employer, have both declined to comment.
Also this morning, alleged victim Lucy DeCoutere issued a statement to the media. The Canadian actress says in the last month there has been a major shift in the conversation about violence against women, writing “this is the start of a change that is desperately needed.”
Although a variety of Canadian media companies broke the story at about 10:37 a.m., Dave Jaffer, a Canadian writer currently living in Denmark, took to Twitter and Reddit with comment at 7:52 a.m.
No but seriously — did anyone else in Canada just hear something about #Ghomeshi getting arrested or is my friend pulling my leg?
— Dave Jaffer (@combatdavey) November 26, 2014
Following the announcement, people took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
More to come.
Alexis is a former CBC Arts and Life intern and full-time reporter for the Ryersonian. She graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015.
Her interests include beer, long walks on the beach and Degrassi. You can most often find her glued to a movie-screen, subtweeting on twitter or choosing an instagram filter.
