Defence lawyer for Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon begins closing arguments

A defence lawyer for Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon is suggesting the nine women accusing him of sexual abuse are motivated in part by money.

Mélanie Morin began closing arguments this afternoon in Rozon’s civil trial on allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

Morin said the language used by the plaintiffs to describe Rozon’s alleged assaults became more uniform over time. Several of the women spoke about experiencing blackouts and described Rozon as having “wild eyes,” despite not having used such language in their original police complaints, she said.

The complainants were not trying to make up stories, Morin said, saying it was “natural” for them to be influenced by each other. “We’re not saying it was dishonest,” Morin told Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Tremblay. We alter our memories, and they are unreliable (…) We let ourselves be carried away.”

Morin says Rozon is not a sexual predator, but a public figure who met with thousands of people.

She downplayed the evidence against him, saying it’s strange there were no witnesses to some of the alleged assaults that supposedly happened in public places.

The defense began closing arguments Tuesday afternoon in the long-running civil trial, which is expected to continue Wednesday.

Rozon had previously claimed that the women had formed a coalition against him in order to enrich themselves, a claim that Bruce Johnston, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, called incomprehensible Monday.

“It may not be about the money, but (money) quickly became an issue,” the defence lawyer argued.

During her closing arguments, Johnston argued that it was impossible for all her clients to lie about what had happened to them, and that their testimonies had been corroborated by relatives or therapists to whom they had spoken about the assaults.

But Morin questioned the value of the evidence against Rozon. She found it strange that there were no witnesses to some of the alleged assaults that allegedly occurred in public places.

She described Rozon as the “perfect target”: an accomplished seducer who “rubbed shoulders with thousands and thousands of people.” She added that he had “groupies” and that he had received flowers and even a marriage proposal at his office.

According to the defense, Rozon is not a sexual predator. She added that it would have been easier for him to say that he had sex with the complainants and believe it was consensual, but instead he insists that he had no sexual contact with the majority of the women.

On Monday, Johnston said Rozon had “no credibility” and that his testimony was “riddled with inconsistencies and lies.”

Speaking briefly to reporters outside the courtroom on Tuesday, Rozon said there were “always two versions” of events.

Rozon is being sued by nine women for a total of nearly $14 million in damages, but he denies the allegations against him.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs on Monday said it was impossible all the women were lying, and said Rozon has “no credibility whatsoever.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews