Sexual Abuse Claims Blog

The Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons has released a decision that it has revoked the medical licence of psychiatrist Jeremy Roberts.

Roberts was accused of "professional negligence and sexual abuse." A hearing found he had an inappropriate relationship with a patient that included sexual activity. The woman was not identified. The Alberta College's policy regarding doctor/patient sexual contact can be found here.

The Calgary Herald has reported that the patient that filed the complaint has filed a lawsuit against Roberts seeking compensation for sexual abuse.

The Herald reports that the plaintiff's Statement of Claim alleges that the woman went to see Roberts for treatment of anxiety, marital stress and postpartum depression. The woman had two young children and was still married when she first visited Roberts in January 2003.

Secret Marriage:

Ten months later, the woman alleges in the statement of claim, she and Roberts had sex in his office. They married in July 2005. It was only when the woman was hospitalized for harming herself, the statement of claim says, that she revealed the secret relationship.

Although Roberts has been disciplined by the College of Physicians, the facts alleged in the statement of claim have not been proven in court.

Doctor-Patient Sexual Abuse is a Persistent Problem:

This story points to a continuing problem. In a previous post I noted that the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons "regularly" deals with allegations of sexual abuse by doctors.

In 2002 the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons disciplined Dr. Russell Harold Frith and in 2004 they disciplined Dr. Charles Larry Leatherdale.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal has reported that in a survey of 792 Obstetricians and Gynaecologists across Canada 10% of the respondents indicated that they knew about another ob-gyn who at some time had been sexually involved with a patient!

For more information about civil claims for sexual abuse click here.

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Posted In: Doctor Sexual Abuse , Sexual Abuse

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The Canadian government has appointed Justice Harry LaForme, a senior Ontario judge and a member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation in southern Ontario to head up a federal truth and reconciliation commission that looks into the abuse that occurred at Indian Residential Schools.

The commission is designed to provide those affected by the legacy of Indian Residential Schools with an opportunity to share their individual experiences in a safe and culturally appropriate forum.

Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada's website has posted details of the commission hearings.

A coalition of Churches that ran some of the Residential Schools and the Assembly of First Nations toured Canada two months ago to promote participation in the Truth and Reconciliation hearings.

I was privileged to be a part of the committee that negotiated the Residential Schools claims settlement on behalf of my clients, the survivors of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School.

The Indian Residential Schools class action settlement is the largest abuse claims settlement ever. The Truth and Reconciliation hearings were an important part of the settlement package. It is the first commission of it's kind in North America and an acknowledgement of the human rights abuses that were systemic within the Residential School system.

Read more about the Indian Residential School claims.

Indian Residential Schools: A Brief History of the Largest Abuse Claim Settlement Ever

Bishop sex abuser changed the law in Canada

Historic Abuse Claims Settlement Set to Pass Final Hurdle

History of Canada's Indian Residential School Claims

Indian Residential Schools Settlement Finalized!

Largest Class Action in Canadian History Moves Forward

Residential School Survivor Receives First Settlement Payment

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Posted In: Residential School Claims

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If you are in Toronto on June 1 and want to support an end to child sexual abuse, consider joing the Walk to Stop Child Sexual Abuse.

The walk is being organized by Youth Out Loud.

Here are some more details.

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A preliminary inquiry has started for Bernard Cloutier, a Roman Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting several young boys over a decade at various parishes in Northern Ontario.

It is alleged the incidents involving Bernard Cloutier began in 1974 and continued until April 1983. He has pleaded not guilty to the 22 charges he is facing.

The preliminary inquiry will determine if there is sufficient evidence for the charges to proceed to trial.

The North Bay Nugget reported:

Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, said Cloutier, like other priests facing or convicted of charges of sexual misconduct in the diocese, is now only allowed to say mass privately.

I first posted about the charges against Cloutier almost a year ago.

You can read more here and here.

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Posted In: Child Abuse , Clergy Abuse , Priest Abuse , Priest Sexual Abuse , Priest Sexual Abuse

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont has been sued over allegations that the Bishop ignored previous allegations of sexual abuse when the Diocese hired Rev. Edward Paquette.

In a trial that started this week, Monsignor John McSweeney, who was chancellor of the Vermont diocese and handled details of hiring priests for then-Bishop John Marshall in the 1970s, testified that he did not know about such allegations until he reviewed church documents recently.

The documents, which chronicle the steps the Vermont diocese took while considering whether to hire Paquette in 1972, include several mentions of the alleged misconduct in letters from out-of-state church officials to McSweeney.

"Wasn't that a red flag for you to say the diocese ought to take a look at this," plaintiff lawyer Jerome O'Neill asked McSweeney.

"In retrospect, yes," McSweeney said.

You can read more about the trial here.

I have mentioned this case before. In a stunning example of hypocrisy, the Diocese of Vermont had threatened to sue Indiana's Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese for failing to disclose prior complaints of sexual abuse against Paquette. The response from Indiana was: "We told you so, and you hired him anyway."

Testimony this week apparently confirms that Paquette's history of sexual abuse allegations had been disclosed to the Diocese of Vermont when Paquette was hired.

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Posted In: Child Abuse , Clergy Abuse , Priest Abuse , Priest Abuse , Priest Sexual Abuse

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I don't normally blog about abuse cases outside North America but this horrible case just cannot go unmentioned.

Unfortunately, this case is just so profoundly disturbing, and so incredibly sad, that I cannot put how I feel about this into words.

You can click here or here for a time line.

Here is some of CNN's coverage.

May God have mercy...

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Posted In: Child Abuse , Sexual Abuse

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Perry Dunlop told the judge in charge of the inquiry into sexual abuse claims in Cornwall Ontario that:

"I will never go to that public inquiry in Cornwall even if you put a gun to my head,"

CBC news has reported that lawyers for Ontario's attorney general and the inquiry commissioner offered Dunlop one last chance to testify before the inquiry on Monday, but he refused.

We've written about Dunlop's opposition to the inquiry before:

Cornwall Sexual Abuse Inquiry Wants Former Police Officer held in Contempt

Former Police Office Arrested for Failing to Testify at Sexual Abuse Inquiry

Dunlop uncovered allegations of sexual abuse that triggered a four year police investigation resulting in more than a hundred sexual abuse charges but only one conviction.

So what do you think? Without his testimony can the inquiry ever get the full story?

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Perry Dunlop will be in court tomorrow for refusing to testify at the Cornwall Sexual Abuse Inquiry into allegations of systemic sexual abuse. Lawyers for the Inquiry want Dunlop to testify about his investigation that uncovered the Cornwall sexual abuse claims or be jailed for contempt of court.

Fifteen years ago, Dunlop's off-hours investigation of an alleged pedophile ring in which priests, politicians and business leaders in Cornwall, Ontario were accused of bizarre sexual rituals with young boys prompted a police probe dubbed Project Truth. In 1997, after four years of investigation, police laid 114 charges against 15 men. But only one person was every convicted of a sexual offence.

The Canadian Press has reported that lawyers for the Cornwall Inquiry want an example made of Dunlop for his refusal to testify.

"Mr. Dunlop has thumbed his nose at both the court and the commission. He has not merely disobeyed the order, but has done so in an open, continuous and flagrant manner," reads the commission's factum.

"Mr. Dunlop's blatant disregard for the work of the inquiry and refusal to participate diminishes public confidence in the work of the commission and should be punished accordingly."

You can read more about the charges against Perry Dunlop here.

Has too much time passed for the inquiry to ever find out what really happened in Cornwall? What do you think of Perry Dunlop's actions?

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A child who suffers from a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome was jailed, sexually abused and subdued with stun guns while he was in the custody of provincial authorities. The New Brunswick government is now being sued over its alleged failure to properly care for the boy.

A recent report by Child and Youth Advocate Bernard Richard, that I wrote about last week found gaping holes in the province's support system for troubled children.

The lawsuit alleges that the boy was taken from his parents when he was 14 and placed in the protective care of provincial authorities.

"They thought they had no choice, but they also thought Family and Community Services would take good care of the child," said the boys lawyer

"They now realize they were wrong."

Because of his autism, the boy was bullied and isolated at group homes, as a result his behaviour deteriorated and led to police intervention.

The child was arrested when he turned 15. He was placed in a holding cell in a jail where he was repeatedly sexually abused by a guard. The guard was convicted of sexual assault.

On two other occasions, police used stun guns to bring the boy under control.

The province has denied all of the allegations in the lawsuit.

Richard's report, Connecting the Dots is an indictment of the state of mental health services for youth in New Brunswick. Unfortunately mental health services has not been a priority for many governments and it remains to be seen what steps the province of New Brunswick will take to implement the 48 recommendations in the report.

What do you think? Will the government act on the recommendations? Or are lawsuits and the threat of further litigation the only option?

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Perry Dunlop a former Ontario police officer who uncovered allegations of a pedophile ring in Cornwall Ontario was arrested his home in Duncan, B.C. on a contempt of court charge for refusing to testify at the Cornwall public inquiry looking into how authorities dealt with the allegations of a pedophile ring in the Cornwall area.

Dunlop has been credited with uncovering dozens of allegations of historical sexual abuse in Cornwall. He had stated that he had no intention of returning to the inquiry because he had lost faith in the justice system.

Dunlop was a Cornwall police officer in 1993 when he came across documents showing one alleged sexual abuse victim had received a $32,000 payout from the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese. The fallout from that discovery would eventually lead to the Ontario Provincial Police launching Project Truth the largest sexual abuse investigation in it's history.

Project Truth was a four-year investigation that laid 114 criminal sex-related charges against 15 men between 1997 and 2001. The investigation resulted in just one conviction.

Is it fair that a man who dedicated himself to protecting the rights of victims of sexual abuse is arrested as a result of an inquiry into sexual abuse? Is the inquiry worthwhile or has too much time passed to ever sortout the truth? What do you think?

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A class action lawsuit on behalf of former students of St. Andrew's College in Ontario who say they were sexually abused has suffered a set back. Students who say they were sexually abused by former teacher John Bradley have filed a class action seeking compensation.

In a highly unusual move, the proposed lead plaintiff applied to the court for an order requesting immunity from costs. In other words, if the proposed class action is not certified , or if the claim is not successful at trial, the lead plaintiff does not want to be responsible for paying costs (legal fees) to the Defendants.

Under the Ontario Class Proceedings Act an award of costs is solely within the discretion of the court.

In considering the request, Justice Lax stated:

Costs awards can be used as a powerful tool for ensuring that the justice system functions fairly and efficiently. They can promote settlement, encourage efficiency in the conduct of litigation, and sanction improper conduct. Danier, Okanagan and Little Sisters, all very recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, send a strong collective message that it is the exceptional case that will warrant preferential treatment with respect to costs and that the general rule that costs follow the cause has not been displaced in litigation, even in issues of public importance. It follows that there must be very compelling reasons to immunize a litigant in advance from an adverse costs award.

Justice Lax ultimately denied the plaintiff's motion saying:

What P.M. seeks is an order that he pay no costs in any event of the cause. Such an order is rare. In the context of a proposed class proceeding where a significant portion of the costs are associated with the motion for certification (estimated by SAC to be approximately $380,000 on a substantial indemnity basis), it would not only be contrary to well-established principles for awarding costs, but unfair.

You can read the whole decision here.

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A young autistic man is sent to a mental institution where he is sexually abused. A 15-year-old boy with a long history of mental disorders is sent to a local jail and put in a holding cell where he is repeatedly sexually abused by a prison guard.

A "disturbing" new report on the treatment of children with severe mental illnesses in New Brunswick has uncovered sexual abuse and harsh treatment in several cases where troubled youths have been sent to jail.

Former provincial cabinet minister Bernard Richard is New Brunswick's Child and Youth Advocate. He released a scathing report Monday uncovering serious flaws in New Brunswick's treatment of mentally ill youth and calling for the end of "criminalization" of mental illness. The report suggests there are inadequate resources in place in the province to assist victims of mental illness.

You can read more about the report here and here.

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Posted In: Prison Abuse

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