An article published in the March 15th, 2019 online edition of The Ubyssey, concerning the acquittal of Mr. Marc Medevielle, contained erroneous statements which were the result of misquotes and a mischaracterization of a decision rendered by Her Honour Judge Adams of the British Columbia Provincial Court. In particular, the article mis-quoted Judge Adams by erroneously stating that she did not believe Mr. Medevielle’s testimony, when in fact, she did believe him. As a result, this may have led some readers to erroneously conclude that Mr. Medevielle committed a serious criminal offence, even though he was acquitted.
Upon review, Mr. Medevielle was completely vindicated by Judge Adams. After hearing him testify, the judge in no uncertain terms held that she “believed” Mr. Medevielle and accordingly acquitted him. Moreover, she found that the complainant was “neither credible nor reliable” and had inconsistencies throughout her testimony.
As a result, the Ubyssey Publication Society regrets publishing this story and recognizes that it caused Mr. Medevielle and his family distress and embarrassment. While acknowledging the need for our reporting of judicial proceedings to be accurate and complete, the Ubyssey Publication Society, in this case, regrets our failure to accurately report on the proceedings involving Mr. Medevielle. Accordingly, we have taken the important step to publish this unequivocal retraction, delete related social media posts, and issue our sincerest apologies to both Mr. Medevielle and to those that have been adversely affected.
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