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A civil restraining order filed by the woman accusing well-known Calgary chef Michael Noble of sexual assault has been withdrawn, according to Noble’s lawyer.
Balfour Der said Tuesday the civil action, filed on March 20, was dropped Monday, May 14 — the same day he had sought to cross examine the woman on her affidavit.
Noble was charged on May 3 with one count of sexual assault in relation to allegations by a former employee who said she’d been cornered in a bathroom at a downtown Calgary bar and sexually assaulted by him during a staff party.
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“He proceeded to grope me and eventually insert his fingers into my body,” she wrote in a statement of claim obtained by Global News.
In her request for a restraining order, the woman said she worried about running into Noble in public places, namely an organization she volunteers for and that he is a donor of. She also said she worried about him potentially contacting her amid the ongoing investigation.
Der said Tuesday the development in the civil case wasn’t surprising, adding the allegations in the affidavit were not true.
“My take on this is that this person just didn’t want to have to answer questions under oath about these things that she had written in her affidavit alleging what Mr. Noble had done to her,” he said.
Der said it doesn’t change how he and his client will approach the criminal sexual assault charge Noble is facing, which is scheduled to go before the courts at the end of May. He said they’re currently waiting to receive the disclosure so they can review the complainant’s statement and any evidence ahead of Noble’s first court appearance.
On May 3, when police first announced charges against Noble, Der said his client was “absolutely” innocent and that “no crime was committed.”
Tuesday he reiterated “the defence is confident going forward.”
Global News reached out to the complainant in the case but she declined to comment.
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