Toronto Globe and Mail

31 October 2008

The Canadian Press

CORNWALL, ONT. -- Twenty-two sex tapes seized and destroyed by the Ontario Provincial Police in 1993 contained no depictions of child abuse, a retired officer told an Eastern Ontario sexual abuse inquiry yesterday.

"On the face of it, it appeared to be commercial [pornography that involved] consenting adults," said Staff Sergeant Jim McWade, who ran the provincial police detachment in Lancaster, Ont., from 1990 until 1993.

Staff Sgt. McWade was testifying at the Cornwall Public Inquiry, a long-running probe into allegations of sexual abuse in the Cornwall area.

In February, 1993, two of his officers executed a search warrant at the home of alleged abuse victim Ron Leroux, after receiving a tip he was in possession of two illegal guns.

Along with the guns, police found a locked suitcase filled with pornographic videos.

While Mr. Leroux originally said he'd found the videos in a garbage bin at the campground where he worked, he later changed his story, telling police in 1994 they belonged to probation officer Ken Seguin, a friend. A number of men have alleged they were sexually abused by Mr. Seguin, who committed suicide in November, 1993. Mr. Seguin was never charged in connection with those allegations.

Over the years, rumours built up that by destroying the tapes, police were covering up evidence that a pedophile ring was preying on children in the Cornwall area.

Among the people who believed the tapes were more than just commercial porn was former Ottawa-area member of the Ontario Legislature Garry Guzzo, one of the strongest advocates for an inquiry.

Staff Sgt. McWade testified that while his officers did not watch all 22 tapes in their entirety, they saw enough to be sure they did not depict criminal activity.

After Mr. Leroux told police the tapes weren't his and that he didn't want them, they were incinerated on the detachment's property, Staff Sgt. McWade said.

He was unable to present the inquiry with his notes from the Leroux investigation. Nor was the existence of the tapes noted on multiple internal police documents - absences that piqued the curiosity of Citizens for Community Renewal attorney Juda Strawczynski.

"My point, sir, is that given the lack of paper recordkeeping at this point, it is now difficult for the OPP to finally disprove rumours that were circulating in the community with respect to the tapes."