VANCOUVER — A judge has thrown out another sexual assault lawsuit against former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong.
In a decision released Tuesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper dismissed a claim filed in 2013 by Grace West.
She alleged Furlong sexually assaulted her while he was a teacher at Immaculata Elementary School in Burns Lake in 1969 and 1970.
Referencing school records submitted by Furlong’s lawyer, Gropper concluded that West was not a student at the school at the time of the alleged abuse.
“On the basis of that evidence and there being no evidence to the contrary, I must find that Ms. West did not attend Immaculata in 1969 to 1970,” Gropper said in a written ruling. “Her claim against Mr. Furlong, alleging that she was abused while a student at Immaculata in that school year, is not sustainable.”
“In all the circumstances, I must dismiss Ms. West’s action.”
Furlong’s legal team filed an application last month to have West’s claim thrown out.
It said West’s name appears on records showing she attended St. Joseph’s School in Smithers during the years when the abuse was alleged to have occurred.
West is one of three people who said they suffered sexual abuse by Furlong.
In December, Beverly Abraham dropped her lawsuit, saying she was unable to handle the stress of legal proceedings on top of coping with the recent deaths of three family members.
A lawsuit by a third person, an unidentified man, has been undermined by court documents suggesting he too attended a different school during the time he said Furlong abused him.
Lawyer Jason Gratl initially represented all three claimants but withdrew from the two remaining lawsuits earlier this month. He declined comment on the reasons, citing solicitor-client privilege.
The remaining lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial March 30.
Furlong has vehemently denied all allegations of sexual assault, which first surfaced in 2012 after a Vancouver-based weekly newspaper published an article accusing him of verbal and physical abuse.
The Canadian Press has a policy of not naming alleged sex assault victims. Both West and Abraham agreed to have their names published but the man did not.