RCMP biased in investigating of allegations against John Furlong, lawyer says

VANCOUVER – A lawyer for two women who claim former Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong sexually abused them has launched a formal complaint against the RCMP.

Jason Gratl says in a letter to the RCMP Complaints Commission that the investigation into allegations against Furlong appears to be biased and that police are telling his lawyers one thing and the media another.

Court documents filed last week by Furlong in a separate lawsuit claim the RCMP has investigated allegations against him and police told his legal team that they made no recommendation for charges.

But the RCMP says the file remains open, and the force has refused to comment on anything else surrounding the investigation.

Gratl calls the investigation haphazard and accuses the RCMP of not being diligent in contacting key witnesses or obtaining documentation regarding the alleged abuses at the Burns Lake, B.C., school where Furlong taught in 1969 and 1970.

In separate lawsuits, Beverly Abraham and Grace West claim Furlong sexually molested them while they were students at the school, but none of the allegations have been proven in court.