Ex-Canucks player Willie Mitchell denies alleged sexual assault of woman in Tofino
Willie Mitchell has provided his side of the story after he was accused of sexual assault.
On Oct. 1, a woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Mitchell sexually assaulted her in 2022 at Tofino Resort and Marina, which Mitchell previously co-owned.
The 48-year-old former Vancouver Canucks player filed his response to the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver on Nov. 20, according to a report from Bell Media’s Rick Westhead.
Mitchell, who was married and 19 years older than the plaintiff at the time of the alleged incident, has not denied that he had sex with the woman, who was a server at the resort.
But the stories from both the plaintiff and the defendant have many key differences.
The woman alleged in her statement that she remembers Mitchell sexually assaulting her, as well as “Mitchell’s hands on and/or around her neck in a strangle-like hold.”
By contrast, Mitchell reportedly described the plaintiff as an “active participant,” adding that she verbally and physically indicated that she enjoyed and consented to the sexual encounter.
None of the allegations have been proven or tested in court.
Mitchell’s court filing reportedly said that, since the incident, he has received counselling and has focused on his family. He stopped posting on social media following the incident. Prior to that, he was married to his wife, Megan. The couple also had two boys together.
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