Prosecution makes closing arguments in Gilbert Rozon sexual assault case

The lawyer representing nine women who have accused the founder of the Just for Laughs festival of sexual assault says it is impossible that all of his clients are lying about what happened to them.

Bruce Johnston made these comments Monday in a Montreal court during his closing arguments in the civil trial of former comedy mogul Gilbert Rozon.

Rozon has claimed that the women have formed a coalition against him with the aim of getting rich, an assertion Johnston says is incomprehensible.

Johnston told Quebec Superior Court Judge Chantal Tremblay that the defendant found excuses to isolate his victims in private places in order to surprise and assault them.

While only nine women are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a total of 16 women “came forward to say they had been raped or assaulted” by him throughout the course of the civil trial, Johnston told the court. Their testimony was “corroborated by relatives or therapists that these women confided in.” 

The plaintiffs are seeking $14 million in damages for sexual assault and rape allegedly committed between 1980 and 2004.

Rozon, 70, claims to have had consensual sex with three of the nine women and denies the other allegations against him.

Johnston said Rozon has “no credibility whatsoever,” adding that he has contradicted himself numerous times during his defence. “His testimony has been riddled with inconsistencies and lies. He has no qualms about backtracking or changing his story once he’s confronted with documentary evidence,” Johnston said.

Rozon’s version of the events has also been influenced by a “twisted” conception of what he constitutes consent to be, the lawyer said. He had an established “modus operandi” he would follow when targeting his victims, the lawyer argued.

He would show little interest in them at first, Johnston said, adding that Rozon would then find excuses to get them alone in a private place, catching them off guard by suddenly assaulting them. 

The impacts for the women have been serious, said Jessica Lelièvre, another lawyer for the plaintiffs. 

Many have developed mental health conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, she said. 

“We can never give these women back the life they never got to have, and the opportunities they missed,” she said. 

Closing arguments for the defence are set to be heard at the courthouse later this week. 

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews