Calgary Coun. Sean Chu apologized to alleged sex assault victim, tried to meet up again, lawsuit alleges
CBC
Despite claims to the contrary, Coun. Sean Chu met the teen he's accused of sexually assaulting several times before the incident and called his alleged victim to apologize in the days after, according to a 1999 lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by the teen and names Chu and then-police Chief Christine Silverberg as defendants. The action was ultimately dismissed against Silverberg.
Chu was noted in default, having not filed a statement of defence, court documents show the claim was never dismissed in favour of Chu.
Until now, details of the alleged sexual assault came from Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB) decisions and transcripts. For the first time, the statement of claim filed with the Court of Queen's Bench offers the alleged victim's account.
CBC News is identifying her as HH in order to protect her identity.
On Oct. 18, Chu was re-elected as Ward 4 councillor by a margin of 100 votes. He has faced increasing calls for him to step down since CBC News broke the story on Oct. 15 that when he was a 34-year-old police officer in 1997, he had sexual contact with a minor.
HH and Chu met at least four times in person and once over the phone before he met her at a Husky House restaurant and then brought her to his home, according to the lawsuit.
Chu has repeatedly said he did not "recollect" any previous meetings with HH before the Aug. 12, 1997 incident.
After eating together at Husky House, Chu said he would drive HH home on his police motorcycle but instead, the claim alleges he "lured her" into his home, saying he was going to pick up his sick dog.
Once inside, the lawsuit claims, Chu violently sexually assaulted HH and took out his Calgary Police Service handgun "to overcome her resistance." After, he drove her home.
In a previous statement Chu has said "unequivocally … that there was no gun involved. He also says he passed a polygraph question on that exact issue.
"In the following days, while he was on duty, Constable Chu left messages on her phone apologizing and asking to see her again," reads the court document. "She returned none of the calls."
According to a transcript from part of Chu's disciplinary hearing, he claimed the encounter at his home involved "consensual sexual foreplay."
The transcript reveals that the presiding officer at the time did not believe the testimony of the complainant, finding HH was "inconsistent" in her evidence and had difficulty remembering "pertinent details."
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