Cardinal Marc Ouellet wins lawsuit against woman who accused him of sexual misconduct
Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet won a defamation lawsuit against Pamela Groleau, who accused him of sexual misconduct, as the court found her allegations unfounded.Summary
Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet has won a civil defamation suit against Pamela Groleau, who accused him of sexual misconduct as part of a class-action lawsuit. Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay ruled that Groleau's accusations were unfounded and ordered her to pay Ouellet $100,000. Groleau had claimed Ouellet touched her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010 and that she felt "hunted" by him at a fourth event. However, the judge noted that Groleau changed her story several times and that her testimony was neither credible nor reliable. The allegations first surfaced in 2022 as part of a wider class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec. Ouellet launched a countersuit against Groleau, alleging that she damaged his reputation. The judge said the damage to Ouellet was amplified by the fact that the class action was aimed principally at religious pedophiles, thereby equating Cardinal Ouellet with that group of individuals. Ouellet has promised to donate the damages he was awarded to organizations fighting against sexual abuse experienced by Indigenous people in Canada.
(Source：Vancouver Is Awesome)