Former Vancouver Olympic organizing committee president and CEO John Furlong reads a statement in Vancouver on September 27, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
January 23, 2013 - 10:31 AM
VANCOUVER - Family members of former Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong — including his ex-wife — are speaking out against allegations of physical and sexual abuse.
John's three children, his wife, ex-wife and 11 grandchildren have issued a statement condemning the latest allegations made by reporter Laura Robinson, who is being sued by Furlong for earlier accusations about his time as a teacher at a First Nations school in northern B.C.
A statement of defence filed by Robinson this week includes new claims alleging Furlong physically abused a former spouse and sexually assaulted another.
Furlong's family says these allegations — which have not been proven in court — are an unfounded abuse of journalistic privilege.
The family says the "obscene" innuendo has smashed the family like a wrecking ball.
Robinson wrote a story for the weekly Georgia Straight newspaper last fall that alleged Furlong lied about his past as a volunteer teacher at a Catholic school in Burns Lake, B.C., four decades ago, where some students claim he was physically and verbally abusive.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013