BELLEVILLE, Ont. - Convicted murderer Russell Williams is denying that a woman he tied up and sexually assaulted is entitled to compensation from him for pain and suffering.
In a statement of defence to a lawsuit launched by Laurie Massicotte in Belleville, Ont., Williams says she will have to prove her claims in court.
And he wants her to pay for his legal bills to fight her lawsuit.
Massicotte, who has chosen to reveal her identity and speak publicly about her ordeal, filed a nearly $7-million lawsuit in September against Williams.
The attack left her fearful, humiliated, depressed, suicidal, unable to function in society and she will require extensive therapy, Massicotte said in her statement of claim.
Williams broke into her house on Sept. 29, 2009, hit her over the head, tied her up, sexually assaulted her and took pornographic pictures, according to Massicotte.
The former air force colonel pleaded guilty to the attack on Massicotte, admitting to those facts in court in October 2010. For the purposes of the lawsuit Williams' statement of defence challenges Massicotte to a burden of "strict proof" of her claims about the attack and resulting anguish.
Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the sex slayings of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, of Brighton, Ont., and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville.
The former commander of Canada's largest military airfield, in Trenton, Ont., also pleaded guilty to 82 fetish break-and-enters and thefts as well as two sexual assaults, including Massicotte's.
Massicotte's lawsuit also names the province, alleging the provincial police failed to warn her about previous sexual assaults and a string of fetish break-ins in the community, later found to be committed by Williams.
The province recently filed its statement of defence, denying it had a duty to warn Massicotte in the circumstances of the case.
"Ontario recognizes the extremely distressing experience that Ms. Massicotte endured as one of Williams' victims," the province says in the statement of defence.
"Ontario is committed to the prevention of crime and to the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators of crime."
Like Williams, the province is asking that the lawsuit against it be dismissed with costs, which would leave Massicotte on the hook for the defendants' legal bills.
Massicotte is also alleging that Williams secretly and fraudulently transferred assets to his wife in March 2010 after he was criminally charged, including their house in Ottawa.
Mary Elizabeth Harriman has vigorously denied the claim in a previously filed statement of defence. She has also denied the same claim made by another victim of Williams who has also filed a lawsuit against the couple over the asset transfers.
Williams and Harriman are in the midst of a divorce.
In his statement of defence Williams also denies the conveyance was fraudulent, saying it was made in good faith to provide Harriman with financial security.
The allegations in Massicotte's lawsuit have not been proven in court.
— By Allison Jones in Toronto
