INQUIRY: Officer defends decision not to lay charges

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

23 May 2008

Posted By Trevor Pritchard

A veteran Cornwall cop wanted medical records or the testimony of Marc Latour's parents before charging the Grade 3 teacher who allegedly abused him, the Cornwall Public Inquiry heard Thursday.

Det. Sgt. Jeff Carroll described those elements as "the cat's meow" and said they would've solidified his case against Gilf Greggain, who taught Latour in the late 1960s at St. Peter's Elementary School.

Carroll conducted a two-year investigation into Latour's claims that he was sexually and physically abused as a young child by Greggain.

The 22-year Cornwall Police Service veteran testified earlier this week he closed the case in early 2003 after trying and failing to corroborate Latour's allegations.

Carroll had to defend that decision yesterday under cross-examination from multiple parties at the inquiry, which is probing how organizations like the CPS handled historical sexual abuse cases.

Ian Paul, an attorney for the Coalition for Action, took Carroll to a transcript of his September 2002 interview with Greggain.

In that interview, Greggain said it was possible he might have physically disciplined Latour - whom he remembered clearly - although he denied ever taking Latour "over my knee" for a spanking or sexually assaulting him.

Paul suggested the fact Greggain admitted he might have used corporal punishment strengthened Latour's story.

"I don't see it as being much stronger, Mr. Paul," Carroll replied. "It (corporal punishment) was not an unheard of practice in the schools at that time," he added. "There's some corroborative value to that, but not a whole lot."

Carroll told Dallas Lee, an attorney for the Victims Group, that the ideal investigation would have included interviews with Latour's parents - both of whom had died by that time - and medical documents outlining Latour's alleged abuse.

When Latour took the stand at the inquiry last March, he testified that on one occasion when his father picked him up from school, Greggain had hurt him so badly he was unable to walk. His father then confronted Greggain inside the school.

Greggain was never charged with any crime stemming from Latour's allegations.

Lee pointed out that Carroll had been asked six times during his examination-in-chief if he believed Latour, and that each time Carroll said he had no doubts that Latour felt his story was "sincere."

Lee asked Carroll point blank if he believed Latour's allegations now.

"I don't know, okay? I don't know," Carroll responded. "I wasn't there. In many ways, I wish I was. Because then I would have known for sure."

Along with the Latour case, Carroll's investigation into sexual abuse allegations made by Albert Lalonde has also come under the microscope at the inquiry this week.

As with Latour, Carroll testified he could not uncover enough evidence to corroborate Lalonde's claim he was abused by Rev. Charles MacDonald, a retired Roman Catholic priest.

The OPP charged MacDonald in 1996 on a number of sex abuse counts, but the charges were stayed in 2002 when a judge ruled they'd taken too long to come to trial.

Carroll said Thursday he had doubts whether the alleged abuse - which came to Lalonde in a flashback as an adult - happened at all, never mind whether it involved MacDonald.

He admitted, however, that he didn't seek an outside opinion about the accuracy of repressed memories before deciding to close the case.

When asked if he had any recommendations for the commission, Carroll said it would be "in no one's interest" if Comm. Normand Glaude's final report - due most likely in 2009 - were to relax the "very high threshold" of proof needed to prosecute sexual abuse cases, historical or otherwise.

He also took the opportunity to blame the media for their coverage of allegations that a pedophile ring had operated unchecked in the Cornwall area for years.

"It saddens me every day that the very hard work (of the Cornwall police) is overshadowed by nothing but negative, sensational headlines that seem to place the spotlight in the wrong spot," he said, reading from a prepared statement.

Carroll is the third CPS witness to criticize the media, after Insp. Rick Trew and Staff Sgt. Brian Snyder made similar remarks when they were on the stand.

Testimony at the Weave Shed is expected to resume this morning.

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What a joke this inquiry is.