Carson Chisholm seeks a voice at inquiry

Cornwall Standard Freeholder 

Saturday, August 25, 2007 - 08:00 

Terri Saunders

Local News - A city man is "in a war" now that he's become a "punching bag" at the Cornwall Public Inquiry, a lawyer said Friday. "I believe in what Carson Chisholm did; he did the right thing," said Frank Horn. "But when you take on the establishment and the powers that be in a little town, you're in a war; you're in a battle."

Horn will go before Comm. Normand Glaude Monday afternoon to seek standing at the inquiry for Chisholm, a lifelong city resident who is the brother-in-law of former city cop Perry Dunlop. For years in the 1990s, Chisholm and Dunlop conducted their own investigation into allegations of historical child sexual abuse in the community. The two men, along with other city residents who eventually formed a group called the Coalition for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, held firm in their belief a group of prominent area men acted together in an effort to both sexually abuse children and protect each other from being found out.

In November 2005, Glaude denied the group standing at the inquiry, saying it was unclear who the group represented and what they stood for.

In recent days, one witness at the inquiry has testified he fabricated elements of his story involving abuse at the hands of a city teacher and outright lied about having been abused by a city priest. The man said he did both those things at the prompting of Dunlop and Chisholm, who is the brother of Dunlop's wife, Helen.

"Carson Chisholm . . . said, 'We've got to get the sons of bitches,'" the man said Wednesday. "That was his expression."

Chisholm told the Standard-Freeholder Thursday the allegations were "bullsh*t" and suggested there was enough truth surrounding the man's claims of abuse there was no need to add anything to make them more believable.

"There's so much real story there," said Chisholm. "You don't have to embellish it."

"Carson Chisholm has to get standing and funding," said Horn Friday. "He has to be there to defend himself now that he's going to be a punching bag. Everybody is going to be taking their shots at him and at the Dunlops."

Horn said the inquiry cannot fulfill its mandate to thoroughly examine institutional response to abuse allegations with Chisholm's participation.

"Carson and Dunlop are the guys who got this whole thing going," said Horn. "What credibility will this inquiry have if Carson is not involved?"

Horn expects to make submissions on the application when the inquiry resumes Monday at 2 p.m.