The Windsor-West Progressive Conservative candidate is asking the public to allow the courts to deal with the allegations against his former party leader Patrick Brown.
Adam Ibrahim posted a tweet in defence of Brown, saying “When the allegations came out against Patrick Brown he was instantly guilty. With that same mindset when he defends, & rebukes major claims should he not be innocent? The court of social media may no longer care for this story but for me I will always stand for justice.”
Ibrahim tells CTV News Brown has a story to tell, one that should be receiving coverage equal to the allegations.
“We have a justice system here and that will take its course, and there's two sides to a story,” says Ibrahim. “At the same time, women should speak out, if they have anything, they should speak out, and we should as a community, as a province and as a country of Canada, we should support these women.”
Ibrahim served as a senior advisor to Brown during his party leadership bid, before his nomination to run in the upcoming election.
Brown stepped down from his position as Ontario PC Party leader late last month amid allegations of sexual misconduct, but said Sunday he can disprove the accusations.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Brown wrote that he has been investigating the allegations reported by CTV News. He said specific details of the accusations from two unnamed women, which date back to when he was a federal MP, contain discrepancies that prove the accounts are false. Brown also alleged that both his accusers know CTV reporters socially, and the broadcaster left out a contradicting account from a witness.
"I will clear my name," Brown wrote in a post that had been shared more than 2,000 times as of Sunday afternoon. "THIS STORY IS FALSE."
Following Brown's social media statement, CTV defended its reporting.
"CTV is aware of the claims made in Patrick Brown's Facebook post (Sunday) and those reportedly made in his interview with the Toronto Sun. CTV News stands by its story," Matthew Garrow, communications director for the broadcaster, wrote in a statement.
Brown, whose resignation came just months before a spring election, wrote on Facebook that he will continue to fight for his family and his constituents, as well as his name and reputation.
"The .metoo movement is important. I support it. I embrace it. My drive to public service includes creating a safer and more respectful world for women. The .metoo movement is too important to allow outrageous allegations like these to derail it," he wrote.
CTV reported on Jan. 24 that one of the women, who is now 29, said she was still in high school when Brown allegedly asked her to perform oral sex on him.
CTV reported the alleged incident happened in Brown's bedroom with the door closed, but Brown said in his Facebook post that at the time of the alleged incident, he lived in an open concept apartment and the bedroom didn't have a door.
CTV also reported the second accuser was a university student working in Brown's constituency office when he allegedly sexually assaulted her at his home after an event she helped organize.
Brown alleged in his post that the accuser actually tried to kiss him that night, while the woman he was seeing romantically was in another room.
"I stopped her immediately and offered to drive her home, which I did," he wrote. "There are at least three witnesses, one of whom even spoke to CTV, that refute the details of her allegations."
He said CTV left that witness's account out of their report.
Brown stepped down in late January, just hours after an emotional late-night news conference in which he vowed to fight the allegations.
Brown's resignation caused the PCs to launch a hastily planned leadership contest ahead of the June election.
Votes will be placed online in early March, with the results announced on March 10.
So far, three high-profile candidates -- former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford, former Ontario lawmaker Christine Elliott and Toronto lawyer Caroline Mulroney -- have entered the race.
Elliott has said that if Brown can clear his name, he should be allowed to run for the party in the coming election.