CROWN ADMITS MAJOR RE-ASSESSMENT COMING IN PROJECT TRUTH TRIAL

The crown attorney prosecuting a former Cornwall-area Roman Catholic priest as part of Project Truth says he is re-considering his position on the case.

Lorne McConnery made the comment after a full day of testimony from former Cornwall police officer Perry Dunlop during the trial of Father Charles MacDonald.

Dunlop was the person who leaked information to the Children's Aid Society that eventually led to Project Truth and the charges against Macdonald, among others.

While on the stand, both McConnery and defence lawyer Mike Neville made it clear to judge Dan Chilcott that Dunlop did delay the case by withholding evidence. Dunlop also said a number of times that in his view there was no one on the Cornwall Police Service or the OPP that he felt he could trust as he continued a parallel Project Truth investigation.

After McConnery made his comment Chilcott said he felt the crown may want to re-evaluate a lot of its case in light of Dunlop's testimony. It was the second comment made by the judge on the case today. Earlier in the day Chilcott commented he has no doubt any more that the delay in prosecuting MacDonald was caused by Dunlop's refusal to provide information even though Dunlop kept on saying he did so because he didn't trust anyone.