18 December 2008

Posted By TREVOR PRITCHARD

The city's top prosecutor vigorously denied ever telling a fellow attorney he'd have been "happy" to see the sexual abuse allegations of former altar boy David Silmser disappear.

"He's either egregiously in error, or he's lying," said Murray MacDonald, referring to statements that Malcolm MacDonald (no relation) gave to the Ontario Provincial Police in 1994.

Yesterday was Murray MacDonald's first day on the witness stand at the Cornwall Public Inquiry, which is exploring how a number of institutions responded to historical sexual abuse complaints.

He was the the city's Crown attorney in 1993, the year Silmser settled with the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese for $32,000 in exchange for dropping his criminal complaints against Rev. Charles MacDonald (also no relation).

Silmser had gone to Cornwall police in December 1992, accusing the priest of sexually abusing him in the 1960s and 1970s when he was an altar boy at St. Columban's Church.

The case was closed in September 1993, after Murray MacDonald decided there was no longer any reasonable prospect of conviction.

Murray MacDonald told the inquiry he was contacted twice by Malcolm MacDonald, who'd acted as Charles MacDonald's lawyer in the settlement: first early in 1993, and then shortly after the deal with Silmser was struck.

The first conversation was simply to let the Crown's office know the civil suit was going on at the same time as the criminal investigation, Murray MacDonald said.

But in the second conversation, the tone shifted, and Malcolm MacDonald was "dismissive" of Silmser's believability, the Crown attorney added.

"(Malcolm) left me with the impression he may be of the view that this would also end the criminal case," he told lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann.

"So I specifically told him that, as you know, this will not end the criminal case. I wanted to make it very clear at this point."

Engelmann showed Murray MacDonald the statement Malcolm MacDonald gave the OPP in 1994.

The OPP had reopened the city police's investigation into Silmser's allegations. In his statement, Malcolm MacDonald maintained that he'd told the Crown attorney the settlement was covering the criminal charges -- and that Murray MacDonald replied "if everybody's happy, I'm happy."

Simply not true, Murray MacDonald said yesterday.

"This is diametrically opposed to what I know happened."

Malcolm MacDonald was eventually charged with obstructing justice, and pleaded guilty to one count in 1995.

He was granted an absolute discharge one month later.

Engelmann said that despite Murray MacDonald's testimony, the fact remained that he decided "within days" that the criminal investigation should not proceed.

"That's for a different reason," the Crown attorney replied. "That's because there's a problem with (having) no complainant."

 "Fair enough," said Engelmann. "But the 'no-complainant problem' arises from this settlement."

But that was why the investigating officers were sent back to tell Silmser they could wrap up the criminal investigation, now that the deal had been struck, MacDonald said.

"I thought, we've got this past us," he said. "I didn't presume that (because of the settlement) he would no longer co-operate."

Charles MacDonald was eventually charged in 1996 by the OPP with sexually abusing young people.

His charges were stayed in 2002 after a judge ruled his right to a trial within a reasonable amount of time had been violated.

It's expected Murray MacDonald will be one of 12-15 witnesses called from the Ministry of the Attorney General's office, the final institution to appear at the inquiry.

His testimony resumes this morning.

What a waste of time and Money this Inquiry is..The only thing that has come out of this is putting Perry Dunlop in jail for being honest! As a Taxpayer-I want my money back!!!!