Trudeau Says He's ‘Looking Into’ Toronto Liberal Candidate's Dropped Sexual Assault Charge
The candidate's campaign is currently paused.
Toronto Liberal candidate Kevin Vuong has been asked to pause his campaign by the Liberal Party after a dropped sexual assault charge from 2019 has come to light.
The Toronto Star reported that Vuong was charged with sexual assault in 2019. However, according to the Toronto Star, the charge was withdrawn later that year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters about the allegations during a campaign visit to the University of Windsor on Friday, September 17.
Trudeau said the Liberal party first learned about the allegations from the Toronto Star's report and "are looking into it very carefully," and have "asked the candidate to pause his campaign."
"First of all, as you said, we are a party that always takes seriously any allegations or reports of sexual harassment or intimidation or assault that has been clear from the very beginning. As you also pointed out, we only learned about these serious allegations yesterday through the work of the Toronto Star. We are looking into it very carefully, and we have asked the candidate to pause his campaign," said Trudeau.
When asked if Vuong would be able to sit as a Liberal if he wins his seat, Trudeau responded, "We're looking into it right now, we've asked him to pause the campaign and we're trying to find out more."
Vuong told the Toronto Star in an interview that he wishes to "unequivocally state that these allegations are false" and says that he "vigorously fought" the charges up until they were dropped in November 2019.