Sex Abuse Class Action Certified
I am pleased to announce that on September 10, 2009, Justice David MacAdam of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court certified Ronald Martin’s class action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.
Settlement Approved
I am pleased to announce that Ronald Martin’s class action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish on behalf of persons who were sexually abused by priests employed by the Diocese has been settled.
Settlement Agreement
At a press conference today, Ron Martin and Bishop Raymond Lahey signed a settlement agreement to resolve the class action lawsuit.
The sexual abuse scandal in catholic schools in Ireland has documented a “substantial level of sexual abuse” in Catholic run schools in Ireland.
Now, TV3 has produced a documentary called “Abuse of Trust: Sins of the Fathers” which documents some of the horror stories of sexual abuse by priests who were part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
The documentary uncovers a pattern that has been repeated time and time again in countries around the world. Roman Catholic Priests sexually abusing children and persons of authority within the church covering up the allegations and moving sexually predatory priests from parish to parish.
After ten years of investigations a government inquiry into sexual abuse in Catholic run schools, orphanages and hospitals has released an exhaustive and damning report.
Abuse Endemic
The inquiry commission uncovered:
…a substantial level of sexual abuse of boys in care that extended over a range from improper touching and fondling to rape with violence.
Corporal punishment in girls’ schools was:
pervasive, severe, arbitrary and unpredictable.
Church Knew About Dangers
The Commission determind that:
The recidivist nature of sexual abuse was known to religious authorities.
Church Concerned About Reputation, Not Risk to Children
The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario has agreed to pay Lou-Anne Soontiens $1,745,000.00, plus legal costs to compensate her for years of sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of Father Charles Sylvestre. The total value of the settlement is thought to be more than 2.2 million dollars.
Sylvestre, one of Canada’s most notorious pedophiles was convicted of sexually assaulting Sootiens.
CBC’s Fifth Estate aired a documentary about Sylvestre called “The Good Father”. As you will see from watching the documentary it is apparent that persons of authority within the Catholic Church knew about Sylvestre’s sexual abuse but did nothing to protect his victims.
In two related decisions released last month, Justice Walter Goodfellow has ruled that the plaintiffs’ claims for compensation for assault and negligence as a result of childhood sexual abuse were statute barred. However, Goodfellow J. allowed the plaintiffs’ claims for compensation for breach of fiduciary duty to continue.
Robert Lawrence Borden and Leonard Anthony Smith were both former residents of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children.
Borden and Smith have filed a proposed class action on behalf of all former residents of the school seeking compensation for assault and negligence as a result of sexual abuse they allege happened while they were residents were living in the Home for Colored Children.
Childhood abuse can permanently change the way your genes fight stress, leaving victims of childhood abuse more vulnerable to stressful events throughout their life.
Abuse Alters Gene Function
Researchers at Montreal’s McGill University have published a study which suggests that childhood abuse can have, not only long term psychological effects, but can physically alter the way abuse victim’s genes function.
Last week the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled that the Roman Catholic Church in St. John’s was responsible for the sexual abuse of eight former altar boys by disgraced priest, Reverend James Hickey.
Priest Convicted of Abusing Alter Boys
Hickey was criminally charged ten years ago with sexually abusing the boys while he was a parish priest on the Burin Peninsula. He was convicted and spent five years in prison.
The Vatican has issued guidelines for psychological screening of new priests. The Associated Press has reported that the guidelines were issued in response to sexual abuse scandals that have cost the Roman Catholic Church hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for victims of sexual abuse.
Weeding Out Psychopaths
According to AP, the guidelines are supposed to help church leaders weed out candidates with “psychopathic disturbances.”
Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada restored a finding of civil liability for sexual assaults committed by an Oblate Brother against a former Indian Residential School Student decades ago and confirmed the burden of proof that victims of historical sexual assaults must meet if they pursue civil claim for compensation.
In F.H. v. McDougall the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a finding of civil liability against Ian Hugh McDougall, a former teacher at the Meares Island Indian Residential school. McDougall was originally found liable in B.C. Supreme Court, but the judgment was overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal.
The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that the testimony of adult victims about sexual assaults that happened during childhood require independent corroboration.
“[t]o choose one over the other . . . requires . . . an articulated reason founded in evidence other than that of the plaintiff”
The judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada was delivered by Rothstein J. He considered whether there was a shifting burden of proof in Canada or if allegations of criminal misconduct should carry a higher burden of proof similar to the burden in criminal prosecutions.
