Settlement reached in lawsuit involving P.E.I. musician convicted of sex crimes | CBC News
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Documents filed in P.E.I. Supreme Court indicate a settlement has been reached in a civil suit connected to a musician convicted of sex crimes against a teenaged girl.
The girl’s family had filed a lawsuit in nearly three years ago seeking $1.5 million from Aaron Crane, 40, along with several other theatre organizations and two of their executive managers.
Crane, P.E.I. Arts Guild Inc., Anne and Gilbert Inc., Campbell Webster and Alanna Jankov were named as defendants. Jankov is the former chief executive officer of the P.E.I. Arts Guild. Webster is identified in the lawsuit as executive producer of the musical production Anne and Gilbert, which is staged in the Guild facility in Charlottetown.
The lawsuit alleged that management knew about Crane’s inappropriate sexual behaviour, but didn’t do enough to stop it.
The defendants disputed those claims.
Court documents filed recently in Supreme Court indicate a settlement has been reached, but there is no admission of wrongdoing.
A judge’s order means much of the information about the settlement — including how much money has been paid out and by whom — is not being made public because the case involves a minor who was a victim of sexual abuse.
“The funding and disbursement of the settlement is hereby approved,” read documents that were available to media, which also state that proceeds would be kept “in trust.”
The documents indicate the action against P.E.I. Arts Guild Inc., Anne and Gilbert Inc., Webster and Jankov was dismissed.
Claims against Crane not dismissed
On. Jan. 5, 2021, Crane was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual interference of a girl who was under 16 at the time of the abuse. Crane was a musician, music instructor and actor.
According to facts presented at the criminal trial, Crane first met the girl when she was a preteen and he gave her private music lessons. Crane had a habit of hugging the girl at the conclusion of her lessons, the court heard, and his touching escalated to sexual intercourse a few years after he met her.
He is now on full parole.
Crane is also named in the civil suit, and the claims against him have not been dismissed.
CBC contacted the victim’s family, the other defendants and lawyers involved for comment, but no one responded.
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