Civil suit alleges 2 Victoria real estate agents drugged and sexually assaulted their client

“I experimented with my quite ideal to just kind of put all the things absent and move forward,” she advised Go General public. The woman — who CBC News is not naming for the reason that she’s an alleged victim of sexual assault — is in her 30s. 

Sitting down in the Vancouver business office of her attorney, she states the assault took a toll on her mental health and she would like accountability — so she’s submitting a civil declare to get it.

She alleges that in August 2018 her real estate brokers, Bowman Rutledge and Andy Rogers, lured her to the Victoria office of the luxurious real estate company Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island, wherever the assault happened. The corporation is also named in the lawsuit.

She determined to sue, she claims, immediately after to start with reaching out to Victoria police. 

“The encounter was dreadful,” she said. “It was … traumatic and not dealt with with treatment or compassion at all.” 

She said officers she spoke with showed a absence of experience and did not look to understand the trauma she’d been by way of.

A Victoria law enforcement spokesperson reported he could not talk to the particulars of her situation, but did say “patrol officers are all properly trained in responding to sexualized violence” and that “survivors … have the appropriate to notify their tale, when, in which and to whom they pick.” 

The lawsuit was submitted in the Supreme Court of British Columbia previous week.

Victims of sexual assault appear to significantly be pursuing justice through avenues other than felony proceedings — such as civil statements and social media — says Kat Owens, task director at the Women’s Authorized Education and Action Fund.

Specialists have believed that only about five for each cent of women report sexual assaults to the police and, of individuals instances, only about 11 for every cent lead to convictions.  

Barriers like the anxiety of being blamed or not thought, a dread of retaliation and problems more than retraumatization are among the the good reasons for this. 

Owens says survivors still want accountability. 

“They are not obtaining it through the criminal justice program and so, through that aggravation, they’re looking for alternatives,” she said.

What’s in the lawsuit

The civil assertion of claim suggests the plaintiff agreed to meet Rutledge for a consume at a nearby bar to celebrate the sale of her home.

When she arrived outside the house the bar, claims the declare, Rogers was also there. 

It alleges that ahead of likely for a drink, two males mentioned they experienced to stop off at their actual estate workplace to do some paperwork. The moment there, states the declare, they “available the plaintiff a glass of wine which they had drugged.”

The lawsuit goes into graphic detail about how Rogers done sexual acts on her, although Rutledge masturbated in close proximity to her facial area.

Go General public contacted the men about the civil go well with, but neither responded.

Neither of the accused guys has been criminally charged and the allegations have not been analyzed in court.

The operator of Engel & Volkers Vancouver Island, Scott Piercy, said in a statement, “We remain a committed, professional and ethical team of licenced advisers and these allegations do not symbolize who we are. Any type of sexual misconduct is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated inside our business or our group.”

Mental health and fitness impacted

The civil match says the plaintiff “sustained major injuries” ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to anxiety, depression and diminished self-truly worth. 

Injuries like that are why the woman’s attorney, Janelle O’Connor, says she’s observing far more sexual assault survivors bringing civil promises ahead. 

“The legal justice technique punishes perpetrators, whereas the civil justice method gives survivors with payment for what they have endured,” said O’Connor, who specializes in civil sexual assault conditions.

“I imagine as a modern society, we’re commencing to get a a great deal better knowledge of the impact that sexual assault can have on psychological well being … and I assume we’re viewing far more survivors seeking to be compensated for that.”

Civil scenarios also have a decreased common of proof than criminal kinds, says O’Connor. “What we’re looking for is a balance of possibilities — so 51 for each cent very likely that the incident transpired. In a felony demo, there can be no fair doubt in anyway that it happened.”

Trial by social media

The woman driving the civil assert claims, in March, a close friend shared a disturbing story about one more alleged assault that activated inner thoughts of guilt for maintaining peaceful about her have encounter. 

“I was filled with so substantially anger,” she stated. “I failed to know how I was likely to continue on to shift forward if I failed to do some thing.”

She posted her allegations versus the genuine estate agents on Survivor Stories Job, an nameless Victoria-dependent Instagram account designed previous yr by three survivors of sexual assault to supply a system to hold alleged sexual predators accountable.

Both males firmly denied any wrongdoing.

“I have a few minimal sisters and would by no means want that to take place to them,” Rutledge claimed in a video clip on his Instagram account. “I would absolutely hardly ever do that to anyone.”

Rogers posted a statement stating equally he and Rutledge “regard, value and admire” the survivors who share their ordeals on the platform. “The allegations created in opposition to us, on the other hand, are untrue and vehemently denied.” 

They experienced, by then, moved to a further real estate agency, which fired them the day immediately after the specifics on Instagram went viral. 

The pair’s former employer, Engel & Völkers, issued a statement indicating the claims were being “regarding and deeply troubling” and that “we are taking this seriously.”

View | Female sues her 2 actual estate brokers, alleging they drugged and sexually assaulted her:

Civil accommodate alleges 2 Victoria real estate brokers drugged and sexually assaulted their client | Go Public

A B.C. lady alleges in a civil lawsuit that her two previous genuine estate brokers drugged and sexually assaulted her in their workplace. 2:10

One particular of the creators of Survivor Stories Job states survivors “just want to be found, read and considered.” CBC News is keeping her identification private, for the reason that of basic safety issues. 

“They experience so validated just by the pure truth that other folks are looking at and hearing their tale for the 1st time,” she stated. “It is really like they’ve been keeping on to a breath for significantly much too lengthy.” 

She suggests women of all ages also use the webpage to alert others about anyone they don’t take into account to be safe.

“They’ll say, ‘I know he is on relationship apps. I know that he is frequenting the nightclubs and bars. And I just want other persons to know.'”

Due to the fact its inception, the account has recounted the alleged steps of perfectly-acknowledged adult men in the local community — resulting in some getting rid of their positions, some companies closing and, in a person circumstance, contributing to legal charges.

Similar social media accounts have popped up in a variety of kinds throughout Canada, mostly prompted by the #MeToo motion and praised by advocates who look at them an avenue for sexual assault survivors who do not have confidence in the felony justice system.

‘They can inquire for a great deal of money’

But individuals social media accounts are not without the need of danger for the people who submit allegations or those behind the accounts, states Catherine Willson, a Toronto-based mostly civil litigator who specializes in social media and defamation legislation. 

She says an individual who was falsely accused and shed their job, saw their marriage ripped aside or social standing ruined, may well fight again. 

“If they can figure out who is placing out the grievance, or potentially the host of the web-site, then they can start a civil action and defamation,” explained Willson. “And they can inquire for a lot of funds.” 

At the very same time, Willson states, she understands why survivors want to identify and disgrace. “There are women that have been harmed. And there would not appear to be a satisfactory solution for many of these females.”

The lady at the centre of the lawsuit says she’s not sure a civil case will carry her peace. 

She confides she’s nevertheless intimidated by the males she’s accused, but states she’s all set to face them in civil court docket — not just for herself, but to encourage other survivors of sexual assault.

“I really just hope that this [helps] other girls transfer ahead,” she said. “And know that they don’t have to be silent any longer. They can appear ahead and be supported on their personal phrases, at their have pace and at their have time.”