Woman alleges she was sexually abused by one of her professors at N.S. university
CTV
A former student at Acadia Divinity College has filed a lawsuit against the school in Wolfville, N.S., alleging she was sexually abused by one of her professors between 1989 and 1991.
A former student at Acadia Divinity College has filed a lawsuit against the school in Wolfville, N.S., alleging she was sexually abused by one of her professors while she was receiving mental health counselling between the fall of 1989 to August 1991.
In the plaintiff's statement of claim, filed Dec. 21 with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the woman claims the school is vicariously liable for the alleged abuse.
College president Rev. Anna Robbins issued a statement Wednesday saying the allegations are disturbing and the school is taking the matter very seriously. She said she had just learned about the lawsuit and that it would be inappropriate to offer further comment.
None of the allegations has been tested in court.
The lawsuit, which is seeking unspecified damages, alleges the student was abused by Rev. Dennis Veinotte, who was employed as a professor by the college -- the seminary of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada and Acadia University's faculty of theology. Veinotte, who died in March 2012, is alleged to have cultivated a relationship of trust with the student, who was in the master of divinity program until she left in 1991.
The lawsuit alleges the assaults took place on the school's property while Veinotte was employed by Acadia Divinity College.
"While in the capacity of the plaintiff's professor and counsellor, Rev. Veinotte subjected the plaintiff to numerous instances of sexual assault and battery," the lawsuit alleges.
