Therapy would have helped victim

Cornwall Standard Freeholder
31 October 2006

Terri Saunders

Local News - A man who was repeatedly sexually and physically abused as a child told the Cornwall Public Inquiry Monday more should have been done to get him help.

Jason Tyo said although he had numerous contacts with police, a trusted teacher and the Children's Aid Society, he feels a greater effort to get him into some form of therapy would have changed his life.

"Do you think you should have been persuaded to go for counseling?" asked Peter Wardle, an attorney representing the Citizens for Community Renewal.

"A little encouragement would have been nice," Tyo said.

While being questioned by Peter Chisholm, an attorney representing the Children's Aid Society, Tyo conceded he may have told a case worker he wasn't in need of any form of therapy.

Chisholm pointed to the record of a meeting between Tyo and a CAS employee which seems to indicate Tyo suggested no counseling was necessary.

The employee stated Tyo was relaxed during the interview, did not hesitate to speak about the abuse he'd suffered and said he did not require any assistance in dealing with the abuse from the CAS.

"You wouldn't have wanted the society to force treatment upon you, would you?" asked Chisholm.

"Not really, I guess," said Tyo.

Chisholm questioned Tyo about the fact the man has said he was dissatisfied with the response of the CAS, suggesting there was more contact between himself, the agency and the man's family than he may recall.

Chisholm pointed to records which show a number of phone calls and meetings between CAS staff and member of Tyo's family, although Tyo said he may not have been aware of any communication between his parents and the CAS.

"Your mother never told you of the CAS involvement?" asked Chisholm. "No," said Tyo, "right up to (today)."

Tyo admitted he became disillusioned with the work of the agency after a single phone call. He said he remembers calling a number he found in the phone book for the CAS and that it was around 7 p.m. on a Friday evening when he was 13 years old.

He said he can't recall exactly who he spoke with, but he remembers nobody called him back and that the conversation was very brief.

Under cross-examination, Chisholm drew a warning from Comm. Normand Glaude when he asked Tyo if it was possible he spoke to a professional answering service instead of a case worker.

"Is it possible you spoke to someone from TAS?" asked Chisholm, without telling the witness what TAS was.

"I dialed the number in the phone book," said Tyo.

"Is it possible you spoke to someone from TAS?" asked Chisholm, again without providing a definition of the acronym.

"Mr. Chisholm," said Glaude. "Be fair to him."

Chisholm then told the witness TAS stood for The Answering Service, a service used to log after-hours calls for the CAS.

"Was it possible you spoke to someone from TAS?" Chisholm asked again.

"It could be possible," said Tyo.

Chisholm questioned the man on what events formed his opinion the CAS response was insufficient.

He pointed to the series of contacts which occurred after that initial phone call, but the witness agreed his mind was made up after that first phone call.

"From one phone call, you had lost all hope of the CAS?" Chisholm asked.

"Yes," said Tyo.

Wardle pointed to several documents which suggest Tyo himself had made statements to the effect he didn't need counseling soon after disclosing the abuse but asked him if he felt he was in a position at such a young age to make such a determination.

"Looking back, as a 13-year-old boy, do you think you would have had a balanced view of whether you needed counseling?" asked Wardle.

"No," said Tyo.

Dallas Lee, an attorney for The Victims Group of which Tyo is a member, asked about the 1987 meeting when he told a case worker he didn't need any help.

"How old would you have been at that time?" asked Lee. "15?"

"Yes," said Tyo.

The inquiry continues today when the commission will call evidence from Dawn Raymond, a former teacher at Gladstone Public School.

Both Tyo and another victim, Scott Burgess, disclosed details of abuse to Raymond in early 1986.