Alleged abuse shattered life of man

Cornwall Standard Freeholder 

Terri Saunders

Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 10:00

Local News - Claire Renshaw remembers the gift her husband, Robert Renshaw, gave her on Valentine's Day 10 years ago.

"He gave me his disclosure," said Claire.

During testimony at the Cornwall Public Inquiry Tuesday, Claire said she was at a bit of a loss when she realized the documents her husband presented to her on that day detailed the repeated sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a city priest and a probation officer.

"I didn't know what to say," said Claire, remembering how her husband was quite upset after sharing his past with her. "It was just easier to leave him alone."

Robert Renshaw is a member of The Victims Group at the inquiry and is expected to begin testifying today. In affidavits filed with the inquiry, Robert claims he was sexually abused by Rev. Charles MacDonald and probation officer Ken Seguin in the 1980s.

MacDonald was charged by police in 1996 with a number of sex-related offences involving young boys but those charges were stayed in 2002 when a judge determined it had taken too long to bring the matter to trial.

Seguin, who has been named by a number of alleged victims as a sexual predator, committed suicide in 1993. No criminal charges were ever laid against him.

On Tuesday, Claire said she and her husband have spent the last 10 years weaving their way through the justice system while trying to maintain Robert's emotional health.

Claire said she specifically recalls the day she and her husband heard charges against MacDonald had been stayed. She said the phone rang and a woman on the other end asked to speak to Robert.

"I gave him the phone," said Claire. "He got loud; he got upset. He slithered to the floor and he just layed there."

For three and a half years after that phone call, Claire said, her husband battled a serious depression. For years before and after that, Claire said, she tried to get counseling for her husband, but the costs associated with therapy proved an insurmountable roadblock.

Throughout the 21 years the couple has known each other, Claire said, they have been each other's primary supporter and with her participation in the inquiry, the mother of three said she's beginning to see some light at the end of her tunnel.

"This is the beginning of closure in my life," Claire said. "This is the end of a long, drawn out nightmare and the beginning of the road back."

Working multiple jobs, often putting in as much a 65 hours of work a week, Claire tried to make up for the fact her husband was incapable of working.

The job of keeping her family together, while protecting her husband from further emotional harm, rested solely on her shoulders.

Claire said raising her children with Robert has, at times, been difficult. She said her husband has been particularly protective over the couple's 11-year-old daughter.

"She was encouraged not to trust anyone; not to be alone with anyone; not to ask anyone for help," said Claire, her strong voice cracking with emotion. "She was not allowed to go to parties, to go to Brownies, to go to Girl Guides. Bob's inner fear and paranoia about the possibility someone could harm or touch his child was overwhelming."

Claire said she and Robert have shared a life "of sadness, struggle and financial hardship" but that they are "two people, holding on to each other" who will not let go.

Claire said there are three factors of life for people living with sexual abuse in their past.

"Victims can never recover, there are perpetrators we did not help and there is a system that could help but wouldn't," she said. "Am I angry? It's obvious. But as the (Dixie Chicks) song goes, 'I'm not ready to make nice.'"

Robert Renshaw is expected to begin testifying at the inquiry today.