Furlong Accuser Hangs up on Judge, Is Ordered to Appear in Court in Person
By Keith Fraser
A man who has accused former Vanoc CEO John Furlong of sexually assaulting him nearly 40 years ago abruptly hung up the phone in the middle of a telephone conference with a Vancouver judge on Friday. The display of rudeness prompted B.C. Supreme Court Miriam Gropper to dismiss Daniel Morice’s application that he be allowed to make an application by telephone to adjourn his trial on Monday. The judge said that Morice, a resident of Prince Rupert, will have to make an appearance in court if he wants to seek an adjournment of his trial, which is scheduled to get under way Monday. The decision came after lawyers for Furlong appeared in person in court Friday, applying to dismiss Morice’s application for a telephone conference Monday on several grounds, including that it might be necessary to cross-examine him on his claim that he is employed and unable to attend court for that reason. Morice gave the judge the name of a person he said was a supervisor with the ministry of highways as evidence of his employment and said he had no way of getting to Vancouver on Monday. “Who is going to pay my way down there?” he said. “Well, it’s your case, so you pay your way down here,” replied the judge. “Nobody pays your way down here.” “You figure, eh,” Morice replied. “I figure, I know that,” the judge said firmly. When Morice made some comments about Furlong and refused to answer any more questions from the judge, the judge said she wanted him to appear in person Monday. “You’re wasting my time, ’bye,” said Morice before hanging up. After he hung up the phone, the judge ordered that Morice appear in court in person Monday if he wanted to adjourn his trial and also ordered him to provide the defendants with any affidavits by Sunday or a list of any witnesses he might call. Outside court, Claire Hunter, Furlong’s lawyer, said that if Morice doesn’t appear in court Monday she will seek to have the case dismissed, a position she has previously made known. At previous court appearances, attempts to reach Morice by phone have not been successful. In February, the judge dismissed a similar lawsuit filed by a woman named Grace Jessie West, who alleged that Furlong was her physical education teacher and that he physically and sexually abused her while she attended Immaculata elementary school in Burns Lake in 1969 and 1970. But court heard that West did not attend the school at the time in question and had instead attended a school in Smithers during those years. Beverly Abrahams, a third plaintiff alleging sexual abuse at the hands of Furlong, last year abandoned her lawsuit after her lawyer withdrew from the case. The three lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Furlong were filed in the wake of an article about Furlong published in the Georgia Straight newspaper in 2012 outlining allegations he had physically abused a number of students. Furlong sued freelance reporter Laura Robinson for defamation and Robinson has responded by suing him for defamation. Robinson’s lawsuit is scheduled to get underway June 15. Contact: kfraser@theprovince.com
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