Too many questions remain, alleged abuse victim says

Ottawa Sun

18 January 2007

By Canadian Press

CORNWALL — A witness at an inquiry into the institutional response to allegations of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area says he’s leaving the hearings with more questions than when he began his testimony. 

“It’s just eating me up,” said John MacDonald, who has accused a priest of sexually abusing him on a number of occasions in the 1970s when he was an altar boy. 

“The last thing I wanted to do was leave here with any nagging questions.” 

MacDonald’s comments came following testimony that revealed that a Crown attorney, Robert Pelletier, withheld a conflict of interest in the case for 21/2 years. 

That delay let his accused abuser slip through the grasp of the justice system. Pelletier’s failure to reveal this conflict resulted in the priest and accused abuser, Charles MacDonald, having his charges stayed in 2002 due to a delay of justice. 

“I feel that it’s borderline criminal what these guys have done,” said John MacDonald. “Had a different Crown been put on when Mr. Pelletier was (first) stating he had a conflict of interest ... different decisions may have been made.”

“This is sickening what I see here. I just don’t know what more to say about it.” 

The inquiry, which began in April 2005, will resume Jan. 29.