Thinking about it, I don't ever recall hearing of anyone getting counselled for slander. At worst, it's usually passed off as gossip, and maybe ends up as a local needs item for the whole congregation.
Like your story, it always seems to be the one being slandered that gets painted as the bad guy. Elders are notoriously bad for not admitting when they're wrong. I think they must think that showing any weakness might stumble someone, coming from "Jehovah's representatives", or maybe they're just too proud. Lack of apologizing is a problem that goes all the way to the top as we all know though.