Bestselling author Steven Galloway's wife testifies on Day 1 of defamation trial
Former UBC writing professor claims he was defamed by false accusations of sexual assault
The wife of former University of British Columbia (UBC) professor Steven Galloway was the first witness to testify on day one of the defamation trial against four defendants he says falsely accused him of sexual assault.
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he → testify → assault
Others named as defendants are alleged to have spread the sexual assault claim, including on social media.
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Others → name → media
Katie Wagner told the court that Galloway was at a speaking engagement in Ohio in late 2015 when he first became aware of the accusation.
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he → tell → accusation
Wagner says that, when she arrived in Ohio to support him, Galloway was in a hospital on 72-hour suicide watch.
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Galloway → say → watch
"He was in a hospital gown, he was upset, crying, shaking.
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he → cry → gown
He knew there was an accusation of sexual assault, but of course, he hadn’t sexually assaulted anyone — so there was a lot of us trying to figure out what was going on," she told the court.
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she → know → court
Galloway, a bestselling Canadian author, was never criminally charged — though he was fired from his job as a tenured professor and chair of the UBC creative writing department.
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he → charge → department
A report by retired B.C. Supreme Court judge Mary Ellen Boyd, commissioned by UBC, concluded the claims against Galloway were unsubstantiated.
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claims → commission → Galloway
After arbitration, he was awarded over $240,000 in damages from the university.
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he → award → university
'Never going to be an end'
Wagner said Boyd’s report only served to sparked a "mob of people online" to repeat the accusations.
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report → go → accusations
"There would be a flurry on Twitter — which was such a big thing," said Wagner.
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Wagner → say → Twitter
"I think there was a sense at that point … that there was never going to be an end to it."
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I → think → it
Wagner testified that the accusations and resulting firestorm has been hard on their four children, finances, and life in general.
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accusations → testify → general
She said Galloway became extremely withdrawn, and at one point she found him trying to hang himself with a rope.
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him → say → rope
She also recounted strictly controlling his medications for fear he would intentionally overdose.
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he → recount → fear
Galloway sued numerous people for defamation in 2018.
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Galloway → sue → 2018
His accusers fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming their accusations were protected speech.
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accusations → fight → Canada
The high court refused to hear the case, after a lower court said that if the defendants' arguments held, "there would be no legal consequences of any kind" to publicly calling someone a rapist.
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arguments → refuse → someone
At least nine of the defendants have settled out of court or issued apologies, including author Chelsea Rooney, whose lengthy statement of apology was published this past weekend.
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statement → settle → apology
Galloway is the author of novels including The Cellist of Sarajevo and The Confabulist.
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Galloway → include → Sarajevo
His lawyer said he is seeking special damages, to account for Galloway's former standing as a star in the literary world who had his career cut short.
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career → say → world
AB has asked the court to keep her identity confidential over concerns an "online mob" would be unleashed against her.
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mob → ask → her
Her counsel told the court that AB has attempted suicide.
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AB → tell → suicide
He said while news stories published about the case haven’t revealed her identity, people have named her in the comment sections under the articles.
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people → say → articles
The trial was originally scheduled for 60 days, but with fewer defendants, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Neena Sharma said it will likely take 20 days.
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it → schedule → days
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to look for help:
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you → know → help
- This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.
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you → outline → someone
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