Jian Ghomeshi, the embattled former CBC radio host, spoke for the first time today in court, addressing a former colleague who accused him of sexual assault in the workplace.

“I was a person in a position of authority and leadership and I did not show the respect that I should have to Ms. (Kathryn) Borel,” he said, reading from a pre-written statement.

Before Ghomeshi spoke, Crown prosecutor Michael Callaghan withdrew the sexual assault charge. The matter was supposed to go to trial in June but instead, Ghomeshi and Borel came to a mutual resolution -- a 12-month peace bond where Ghomeshi would agree to be of good behavior and have no direct or indirect contact with the complainant.

The court does not consider the signing of a peace bond an admission of guilt. And if Ghomeshi abides by the peace bond, he will not have a criminal record.

The court heard that on February, 7, 2008, Borel – an associate producer who worked on Ghomeshi’s radio show “Q” -- was working late with the celebrity host. At one point Borel said Ghomeshi came up behind her, grabbed her waist as she was bending over her desk, and thrust his pelvis back and forth into her buttocks for several seconds.

Borel sought advice from CBC management but unsatisfied with their response, she left the company.

Ghomeshi admitted in court his behaviour was “sexually inappropriate.”

“I did not always lead by example and I failed to understand and truly appreciate the impact of my conduct on Ms. Borel’s work environment,” Ghomeshi said in court. “That conduct in the workplace was sexually inappropriate. I realize that there is no way for me to know the full impact on her, personally and professionally.”

Ghomeshi, who has been seeing a therapist weekly for the last 18 months, said he has had to come to terms with his own “deep regret and embarrassment.”

 Borel spoke to media outside the courthouse after the proceedings were over and explained why she agreed to a peace bond rather than force a trial.

Having him sign a peace bond was the “clearest path to the truth,” she said.

“A trial would have maintained his lie. The lie that he was not guilty and it would have further subjected me to the very same pattern of abuse that I am currently trying to stop. Jian Ghomeshi has apologized but only to me,” she said.

“There are 20 other women that have come forward and made serious allegations about his violent behaviour -- women who have come forward to say that he punched and choked and smothered and silenced them. There is no way I would have come forward if it weren’t for their courage and yet Mr. Ghomeshi has not met any of their allegations head on, as he vowed to do in his Facebook post in 2014,” Borel said.

Ghomeshi was previously acquitted on all five criminal charges he was facing in connection with a February sexual assault trial involving three women.

While delivering his decision in that case, Justice William Horkins said the female complainants were not a “reliable source of the truth.”

In her comments to reporters Wednesday, Borel alleged that the incident detailed in court was not the only time Ghomeshi touched her inappropriately.

“The relentless message to me from my celebrity boss and the national institution we worked for were that his whims were more important than my humanity or my dignity,” she said.

CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson issued a written response to the media after court which said that Borel’s experience at the network “should never have happened.”

“We sincerely apologize for what occurred,” he said.

"We've launched new mandatory training programs for HR staff, for managers and for all employees. We've introduced a new bullying and harassment helpline. We've revised our process for capturing the details of bullying and harassment complaints. We are responding to complaints with renewed discipline and rigour, and learning from the data to improve prevention and early resolution."

He also said that the accusations made against Ghomeshi were “unrelated” to the company’s decision to terminate his employment.

“As we said in March, based on the evidence that came to our attention, Mr. Ghomeshi's actions were not in line with the values of the public broadcaster nor with our employee code of conduct and we stand by this decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, court also heard from Ghomeshi’s high-powered lawyer Marie Henein who took a moment to reflect on the intense media coverage of her client’s case.

Henein called the February sexual assault trial “one of the most intensely public trials in our history.”

“I have never had a client be the subject of such an unrelenting public scrutiny and focus. I have been witness to it as closely as anyone can be. It is a focus that has not only been on Mr. Ghomeshi but also his family and those that have stood beside him. He has taken this time to reflect in a meaningful and sincere way. His apology demonstrates that,” she said.

“The last 18 months are one of the most difficult I have witnessed anyone ever having to withstand. I do not think many of us would have been able to do so. But he has. With dignity and the solemnity that is appropriate. He has demonstrated his respect for the judicial system throughout.”

She concluded her statement by saying that she hopes Ghomeshi can “move forward” now that the proceedings have concluded.

“On a personal level, it is my equally sincere hope that the Canadian public can now move forward,” she said.

“And while this matter has consumed the attention of so many, there are many equally important matters in this country that the public wants to know about and that I hope we can now turn our attention to.”