Woman who accused Patrick Brown of sexual misconduct now says she wasn’t underage

TORONTO — A woman who accused former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown of sexual misconduct now says she wasn’t underage at the time of the alleged incident but stresses it doesn’t change the core of her allegations.

CTV News, which reported the allegations in late January, said in a story late Tuesday that the woman’s timeline of the alleged events has changed but the broadcaster still stands by its reporting.

The woman’s lawyer, David Butt, told CTV it’s not unusual for “collateral details” to fade over time and complainants shouldn’t be blamed because it often takes years for them to find the courage to come forward.

The unnamed woman says in a statement that she has been subject to demeaning and misogynistic comments online since CTV first reported her allegations.

CTV has also reported allegations against Brown from a second woman, who also says she stands by her accusations.

Brown has vowed to disprove the allegations, saying in a Facebook post over the weekend that both women’s accounts contained discrepancies that show their accusations are false.

He also alleged both of the accusers know CTV reporters socially, and that the broadcaster left out a contradicting account from a witness to one of the alleged incidents.

Brown stepped down as Tory leader hours after the allegations, which have not been independently confirmed by The Canadian Press, were made public in late January.