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Ottawa Sun
May 19, 2002

Cornwall's open sore left to weep
Scandal's lack of closure won't help accused, accusers or town

By Kathleen Harris -- Ottawa Sun

CORNWALL -- For those packed inside the small courtroom, the decision was as predictable as it was appalling. Last Monday, a judge ruled that a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing several boys would not have to stand trial. Not because the weight of evidence was not there to proceed, but because a
bizarre set of circumstances had entangled, tripped up and delayed his case.

Ultimately, it was the passage of too much time that allowed Father Charles MacDonald to leave the court a free man.

That evening, the retiring Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall, Eugene Larocque, spoke with the former priest by telephone.

"He's relieved that at last the whole thing is over. That he can breathe a little easier," he said of their conversation.

But Larocque admits the court ruling left the entire community -- including himself -- uncomfortably in doubt.

He has heard pleas of innocence from the former St. Columban's parish priest. But he has also seen the raw emotions of complainants and their supporters -- broadcast that night on the television news.

"They are absolutely convinced that Father Charles is guilty and that he is being let off. I don't have that conviction. I just don't know."

Some say this lingering doubt will continue to block Cornwall's healing process.

The sex abuse scandal, made more shocking because priests and other leading citizens figure so prominently in it, has left the community polarized. It has left lives of alleged victims in tatters and religious faith rattled.

"It means we don't move on," said Paul Scott, spokesman for a lobby group called Citizens for Renewal. "It's impossible for the community to find any normalcy now."

His coalition has already sent 12,000 signatures to Queen's Park demanding a public inquiry into widespread sexual abuse allegations. The petition's numbers represent half the city's households and about one-quarter of the local population.

But while MPPs from across Ontario have supported the call for an inquiry, civic leaders have remained stubbornly quiet on the issue.

"Not one local leader has spoken out on it," Scott said. "It's a real problem. They're all either wearing rose-coloured glasses or blinders. Meanwhile, the masses here on the street are carrying tremendous anger and frustration."

Disturbing allegations of rampant child molestation in Cornwall date back several decades, but they didn't begin to surface until 1992.

That's when a former altar boy who claimed he was abused by MacDonald in the 1970s went to the church seeking an apology.

When it didn't come, he went to police.

In the fall of 1993, the complainant was silenced. He accepted a $32,000 payment from the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall and made a promise to withdraw his police complaint.

This illegal settlement -- and a police officer named Perry Dunlop who exposed it -- ultimately led to a flurry of sexual abuse allegations. They stretched back several decades and pointed fingers at some of the city's most high-profile citizens.

But ensuing investigations could not find enough evidence to arrest MacDonald, who didn't face charges until March 1996. It was the first of three sets of charges, eventually totalling 19, and his case became a key one in the Project Truth OPP
investigation launched in 1997.

To this day, Bishop Larocque maintains he was not aware of the now infamous clause that required the complainant to drop criminal proceedings to collect the $32,000.

'ASTONISHED' AT CLAUSE

"I was the most astonished person in the world when I saw that," he said. "I never agreed to that. It is both morally and legally reprehensible. In my view, to say it was cover-up money is completely false."

Malcolm MacDonald, the Church lawyer who drew up the agreement, was eventually convicted of obstruction of justice. He was among those later charged with child sexual abuse, but died in Florida from a heart attack before facing trial.

Larocque himself has been publicly identified as a member of the local "pedophile clan" -- an accusation he flatly denies.

"I know I have been falsely accused. I was accused with all the gory details of something I did in 1961. In 1961, I hadn't even set foot in the diocese," he said.

Separating fact from fiction has proven difficult in the Cornwall case; accusations have been hurled in civil suits and counter-suits, in criminal charges and in rumours on the street.

But the undeniable fact that MacDonald was not charged until 1996 is one that Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Garry Guzzo finds confounding. The way he sees it, only sheer "incompetence" or a cover-up could explain why charges weren't laid earlier against MacDonald or other notables who were eventually named by Project Truth investigators.

A lawyer and former provincial judge, Guzzo is concerned that OPP charges came only after being presented with evidence gathered by private citizens.

A SHAM

"It was never intended that anyone would be charged. It was never intended that anyone would be prosecuted or convicted," he said. "They had to do it because of pressure from the citizens' group. If that's not abundantly clear to every clear-thinking citizen right now, then I'm shell-shocked."

Guzzo's exasperation grew this week after charges were stayed against Father MacDonald due to unreasonable delay. He claims he was repeatedly assured by the provincial attorney general's office that delays were primarily due to the defence and that the MacDonald case was not in jeopardy.

"The clock was ticking. The judge didn't really have an option but to stay the charges, given the length of time that had passed. The real question is, why?"

Committed to his fight for a public inquiry, Guzzo blames former premier Mike Harris for blocking it in the past. He hopes his private member's bill will now find an ally in Premier Ernie Eves.

"Cornwall's a long way from Toronto. Those victims are faceless up here and it doesn't seem to resonate with some people, to be blunt. It's unfortunate," he said.

Sylvia MacEachern, who has been closely following all the Project Truth cases, was disturbed but not surprised by this week's outcome. As editor of a Catholic publication, her cynicism
escalated to outrage over what she sees as the rights of an accused prevailing over the rights of victims of childhood sexual abuse.

"I think if the judge had any interest in the community he would have put them first," she said. "This closes the circle and takes the community back to Day 1. It's as though nothing happened.
You've got 10 years that simply didn't exist."

MacEachern believes the cumulative effect of the MacDonald case -- and all the other Project Truth cases where accused men have died, committed suicide, been acquitted or had charges
stayed -- will be to silence other victims in the future.

"Why would anyone endure 10 years of hell? That's the message that was sent. And who would want to be a Perry Dunlop and speak out for what's right?"

Many people see Dunlop, a former constable with the Cornwall police, as a national hero.

EGOMANIAC

During MacDonald's pre-trial, Dunlop was depicted as a self-serving egomaniac who jeopardized criminal cases by recklessly violating orders from his superiors. His behaviour, along with a change in Crown prosecutors, a conflict in trial schedules and ongoing investigations, were all cited as contributors to the six-year delay in charges reaching trial.

Dunlop, who was charged with misconduct under the Police Services Act but later cleared, maintains he could trust no one, and that his only goals were to uncover the truth and protect children by putting criminals behind bars.

In 1997, Dunlop presented volumes of material containing explosive allegations, and the OPP probe launched that same year led to 115 charges.

While no evidence of a pedophile "ring" or "clan" has ever emerged, many of those charged under Project Truth were clergy or had some connection to the Catholic church.

MacEachern says the scandal and the justice system's failure to deal with it has shaken spirituality, broken trust and torn apart the religious community. Many people now refuse to set foot in a
church, she said.

Larocque's successor Paul-Andre Durocher, who will be installed as Alexandria-Cornwall's new bishop on June 17, says he will arrive with little knowledge about Cornwall's raging controversy.

"I have basic ignorance. I heard some news stories recently, but I'm going in there to discover the people and the community," he said in a telephone interview from Sudbury. "I don't know a lot
about the area or the history. It's all new to me."

While he will not bring any preconceived ideas to Cornwall, he will sit down and speak with anyone who is concerned about past allegations. If necessary, Durocher said he will develop a strategy for healing and moving ahead.

For the alleged victims who didn't have the opportunity to tell their stories in a public courtroom,
moving on may be difficult.

And the man they have accused of sexual abuse -- who pleaded not guilty to all charges -- will have
no chance to clear his name.

READY TO DEFEND

After charges were stayed, MacDonald's defence lawyer Michael Neville said he'd been confident
about the case and was prepared to defend his client on every charge.

Nestled along the St. Lawrence River, conveniently near Hwy. 401, Cornwall has been working to
sell itself as a great community in which to live and do business. But the city's name has been
persistently linked to stories of pedophilia -- a tarnished image that Cornwall Coun. Denis Carr is
eager to shed.

"It has given Cornwall a bad reputation that is undeserved," he said. "There is no evidence of a
pedophile ring, despite all the headlines. This is a great community, with great people."

When all criminal proceedings have finished in the courts, that will be the time to consider a
potential public inquiry; until then, he says he won't push.

"It has focused people for the wrong reasons," Carr said. "We're talking about things that allegedly
happened 30 years ago. I live here today."

THE OUTCOMES

The outcomes of the four-year Project Truth investigation. OPP charged 15 people for sex crimes
dating back more than 35 years:

Charges stayed: Rev. Charles MacDonald; Jacques Leduc, diocese lawyer (appeal hearing scheduled
for this fall)

Facing Trial: Bernard Sauve (businessman)

Acquitted: Harvey Latour; George "Sandy" Lawrence, church organist and store owner; Rev. Paul Lapierre
(under appeal); Rev. Kenneth Martin

Guilty: Jean-Luc Leblanc, school bus driver

Charges withdrawn: Rev. Romeo Major, Keith Jodoin, former Cornwall justice of the peace and former
director of the United Way

Charges dismissed due to health: Leonel Carriere, religious brother

Deceased: Brian Dufour, former probation and parole counsellor, Roch Landry, retired butcher, Malcolm
MacDonald, former lawyer and Crown attorney, Arthur Peachy, former doctor and coroner