Man says he lied to former cop about abuse

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 08:00

Local News - By Terri Saunders

A witness at the Cornwall Public Inquiry admitted today he lied about being molested by a city priest to please Perry Dunlop.

The man, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, said he made up the details of allegations he'd been abused by Rev. Charles MacDonald because he felt "pressured" by the former city police officer.

"Perry Dunlop was the only friend I had," said the man. "He kept pushing me and pushing me and I felt I had to give him something."

The man said he went to Dunlop in 1997 to talk about abuse he says he suffered at the hands of two other men, former city teacher Marcel Lalonde and Ron Leroux, a man who has testified at the inquiry he was abused by a number of Catholic priests in the past.

Leroux has never been charged in relation to this man's allegations.

On Wednesday, the man said Dunlop put a lot of pressure on him to come up with allegations against MacDonald.

"He kept bugging me, 'Do you remember anything? Come on, you've got to remember something,'" said the man. "He was always on me even though I told him I didn't remember anything."

The inquiry is continuing.