November 2010 :: Sexual Abuse Claims Blog

Police Charge Archbishop Seraphim Storheim with Sexual Assault: Update

Last month a criminal investigation into allegations of sxual abuse lead to the resignation of Archbishop Seraphim Storheim, the Canadian leader of the Othodox Church in America.

Canadian Archbishop resigns Over Sexual Abuse Allegations

Today Winnipeg police confirmed that they arrested and charged Kenneth William "Seraphim" Storheim with two charges of sexual assault. The charges stem from allegations made by two men who say they were sexually abused by Storheim when they were teenagers.

Police believe there may be more victims. They are encouraging anyone with information to contact the Winnipeg sex crimes unit at 204-986-6245.

Update December 2, 2010

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America has suspended Archbishop Seraphim. The Synod has appointed Bishop Irenee of Quebec City as Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada.

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Posted In: Priest Abuse , Priest Sexual Abuse , Seraphim Storheim

Update on Criminal Charges Against William Hodgson (Hod) Marshall

I saw an interesting article in the Toronto Star last weekend.

Reverend William Hodgson (Hod) Marshall is facing 2 dozen criminal charges of sexual assault and indecent assault involving 16 boys (now men) who say they were sexually abused by Marshall while he was teaching in Catholic schools in Windsor, Toronto and Sudbury.

The current Roman Catholic Bishop of London Ontario is Ronald Fabbro. The article traces the relationship between Fabbro and Marshall.

What Did The Bishop Know?

It is clear that Fabbro knew as far back as 1996 that Marshall had faced allegations of sexually assaulting his students.

How many allegations Fabbro became aware of, and what the church did in response to the allegations, is not clear.

More Survivors Continue to Come Forward

I have been contacted by a number of persons who allege they were victims of Hod Marshall.

If you would like more information you can contact me, confidentially, by emailing me through this blog.

Toronto police are urging anyone with information to contact them at (416) 808-7474 or you can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at (416) 222-tips (8477).

Anyone in the Windsor, Ontario area can contact the Windsor Police Special Victims Unit at (519) 255-6700 (ext. 4310).

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Posted In: Child Abuse , Clergy Abuse , Priest Abuse , Priest Sexual Abuse , Rev. William Hodgson Marshall

Canadian Abuse Survivors Speak up on Oprah Show

Perhaps it goes without saying, but childhood sexual abuse is a world wide problem.

Lat week I posted about Oprah's show about male survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Since the show aired there have been a number of news stories about Canadian men who survived childhood sexual abuse who participated in the show.

Here is a story from The Citizen Newspaper: Ottawa Sexual Abuse Survivor Confronts Past on Oprah Winfrey Show.

The CBC reported on a gentleman from Prince Edward Island: Oprah Talks to P.E.I. Abuse Survivor

I wanted to take a moment to applaud the courage of these men and all the others who participated in the show.

The first step to stopping childhood abuse is to talk about it. To acknowlege that it happens. Only then can we as a society take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

"Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow." Albert Einstein

Posted by John McKiggan | Permalink | Email This Post

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

Bathurst Diocese Sexual Abuse Compensation Program Cloaked in Secrecy

The Diocese of Bathurst has taken the unusual step of applying to the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench for an Order sealing all information pertaining to the compensation process the Diocese of Bathurst has put in place to “help” victims of sexual abuse by priests of the Bathurst Diocese.

The Diocese also requested that the fee paid to former Supreme Court Judge Bastarache be sealed.

Former Bathurst priests Levi Noel and Charles Picot have been convicted of sexually abusing boys from various parishes in the Diocese.

The Diocese claimed that it would be at a "disadvantage" in future litigation if the amount of compensation paid to abuse victims was made public.

Given the resources the Catholic Church has to fight the claims of sexual abuse survivors, I think it is the survivors who are the ones who are at a disadvantage.

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Posted In: Father Levi Noel

Oprah Sheds Light on Male Childhood Sexual Abuse

My wife is a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. She is certainly one of the most influential people in North America (Oprah, not my wife). So I was pleased when my wife told me that Oprah had devoted two days to a show about male survivors of sexual abuse. The first part aired last week. Part two is scheduled to be aired today.

The show is about the stories of 200 adult men who were molested as children. I applaud Oprah’s efforts to encourage male survivors of sexual abuse to come forward.

Disclosure Painful

I have been representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse for almost 20 years. Having represented literally hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse I can say for a fact that male survivors of sexual abuse find it more difficult to talk about what happened to them than the female survivors that I have helped.

The First Step

The first step to stopping childhood sexual abuse is to talk about it. Talking about the reality of childhood sexual abuse will help reduce the stigma for survivors. It will help educate the public about the effects of childhood sexual abuse. It will teach parents, family and friends what to look for so you know when it is happening.

I cannot tell you how many times survivors of sexual abuse have said to me: “I thought I was the only one…”.

You Are Not Alone

If there is one thing male survivors of sexual abuse need to know is: You are not alone!

Resource Guide

Survivors often have a difficult time finding someone they can trust to talk about what happened to them. So I have prepared a resource guide for survivors of sexual abuse that lists counselors throughout Atlantic Canada who specialize in helping sexual abuse survivors. You can get a copy by contacting me.

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Posted by John McKiggan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Abuse , Clergy Abuse , Doctor Sexual Abuse , Sexual Abuse , Teacher Sexual Abuse