Category: Uncategorized

Province & Mom Responsible for Sexual Assault on Child by Sex Offender: B.C. Court of Appeal

by John McKiggan

In a decision released last week, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has found a probation officer and the mother of a boy who was sexually abused, equally responsible for sexual assaults on the boy, by a paroled sex offender.

The Court of Appeal confirmed that the province is vicariously liable (legally responsible) for the negligence of a probation officer who allowed a convicted sex offender on parole to live with a family with two young children.

You can read the full decision here.

Priest Sex Abuser Appeals Conviction: Denies Existence of Repressed Memory

by John McKiggan

Paul Shanley the notorious defrocked priest and convicted sex abuser that was the center of the Boston priest sexual abuse scandal has appealed his conviction on charges of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at a Newton parish in the 1980s.

Shanley claims that his lawyer at his trial did not do a good enough job challenging the admissibility of the victim’s “repressed memories” of the childhood sexual abuse.

The District Attorney who prosecuted Shanley, Gerry Leone was quoted as saying:

Throw the Book at Sexual Predators

by John McKiggan

In an Editorial published today in The Montreal Gazette the authors point to the apparent epidemic of sexual abuse in schools.
…it is impossible to know how large the problem of sexual predators in schools is, but there is, definitely, a problem. A 2001-2005 investigation in the U.S. last year by Associated Press found more than 2,500 cases of teachers who were either sanctioned by their schools or, in half the cases, convicted of a crime of sexual misconduct.
The authors conclude:
The seriousness of child sexual abuse cannot be overstated. Victims talk of lives ruined. They are unable to work, form relationships, enjoy friendships or accomplish what they hoped to in life.

The justice system seems to be the one realistic hope of putting an end to a predator’s career.
I couldn’t agree more. I have been representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse for more than 15 years. Criminal charges provide the justice system with a chance to punish sexual predators. Civil claims for sexual abuse hold the institutions that allow sexual deviants to prey on child accountible for the lives destroyed by sexual abuse.

If you have been a victim of childhood sexual abuse you can contact me for a free report about childhood sexual abuse claims and a manual of Atlantic Canadian resources for survivors of sexual abuse.

Priest Charged with Sexual Abuse Chooses Trial by Judge and Jury: Quebec

by John McKiggan

Le Soleil has reported that Denis Tremblay, a priest from Sainte-Martine accused of sexual abuse, has elected trial by judge and jury.

Tremblay was a priest at Sainte-Martine for more than 20 years. He is charged with sexual molestation, indecent exposure and indecency on a person over whom he had authority.

The acts allegedly took place over a 40-year-period, between 1968 and 2007.

Prime Minister to Apologize (finally) for Indian Residential School Abuse

by John McKiggan

In a long over due gesture Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced today that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will officially apologize on June 11 on behalf of the government for abuses suffered by former residents of native residential schools.

Although she did not live to see it, I think my friend Nora Bernard would be pleased.

A Tribute to Nora Bernard

Ex-Cop who Snubbed Cornwall Sex-Abuse Inquiry Appeals Contempt Conviction

by John McKiggan

Perry Dunlop a former police officer who is currently serving a jail sentence for refusing to testify at the Cornwall Sexual Abuse inquiry he helped spark is appealing his contempt conviction, but still has no plans to give evidence at the sex-abuse probe.

The Canadian Press has reported that Dunlop has retained Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon to handle the appeal, which he initially filed himself as an inmate.

I have posted about Dunlop’s refusal to cooperate with the inquiry before.

Jury awards victim $8.7 million in Vermont priest-abuse case.

by John McKiggan

A jury has awarded a man who was sexually abused by Roman Catholic priest Rev. Edward Paquette $8.7 million dollars. The Burlington Free press has reported that the jury deliberated for almost five hours before returning with their verdict.

The jury verdict was for $950,000 in compensatory damages (what is typically referred to as compensation for “pain and suffering”) and $7.75 million in punitive damages.

I posted about this case when the trial started last week, and last year when the Bishop of the Diocese of Vermont threatened to sue Indiana’s Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese for failing to disclose prior complaints of sexual abuse against Paquette.

Lawyer wants to Question Pope about Sex Abuse Cover Ups

by John McKiggan

A lawyer representing three men who say that since 1962 the Vatican orchestrated a coverup of priests sexually abusing children in the United States wants a court order allowing him to question the pope about what the Catholic Church knew about sex abuse allegations.

I posted about how the Church tried unsuccessfully to stop the lawsuit last year.

The lawsuit is based, in part, on instructions that the Vatican sent in 1962 to Bishops worldwide instructing them to keep allegations of priest sexual abuse confidential, at the risk of excommunication.

Psychiatrist Sued for Sex Abuse of Patient: Calgary

by John McKiggan

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.

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