His legal representatives claim that Grace West, who in 2013 filed suit alleging that Furlong had sexually assaulted her when he was teaching at Immaculata School in Burns Lake, British Columbia, in 1969 and 1970, was a student at another school at the time when the incident is said to have taken place.

They have argued that West's name does not appear on the register of the Immaculata School, but instead on that of St Joseph School in Smithers.

"The evidence seems fairly clear that Ms West was not even at the school Mr Furlong was teaching at, at the relevant time," Vancouver lawyer John Hunter told British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Miriam Gropper.

Gropper has now reserved her decision after the hearing, but it is not immediately clear when she will deliver her ruling.

West is one of three people to have alleged Furlong had verbally and physically abused them, claims he has slammed as "completely unfounded" and "horrible, heartless lies and innuendo".

However, Beverly Abraham withdrew her lawsuit against Furlong last month, while an unidentified man's legal action is also being questioned as court documents suggest he too attended a different school at the time of the alleged abuse.

The man's lawsuit, for which no application has yet been made for dismissal, is scheduled to begin on March 30.

The allegations against Furlong first came to light in 2012, when freelance journalist Laura Robinson wrote an article for the Georgia Straight newspaper, quoting several people who claimed to have been verbally and physically abused while being taught by Furlong in Burns Lake and Prince George, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Furlong, now the executive chair of Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, filed a defamation lawsuit against the publication and Robinson, although he later dropped the claims against the newspaper.

Robinson, in turn, filed a defamation lawsuit against Furlong.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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