Silence is deafening

Perry Dunlop Could Have Been The Star Attraction At The Inquiry

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

05 February 2009

Posted By TREVOR PRITCHARD

"I have nothing to say." On Sept. 17, 2007, those five words rang through the hearings room of the Cornwall Public Inquiry, as former city cop Perry Dunlop staunchly refused to answer any questions put to him by commission lawyers.

It was a decision that would have severe ramifications for Dunlop, who in early 2008 was convicted on contempt of court charges and ultimately spent seven months in jail.

It also left a hole of sorts in the evidentiary record of the inquiry, which for more than three years explored the institutional response to allegations of historical sexual abuse.

Because of his absence, the inquiry had to "make do" with documents, exhibits, and the testimony of the many people who had contact with him, said lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann.

"He refused to testify despite an order from the commissioner, and despite an order from the divisional court," said Engelmann.

"It would have been nice to have his side of things."

Dunlop's reputation as a whistleblower was born in 1993,when he hand-delivered an alleged sexual abuse victim's statement -one that fingered a Roman Catholic priest and a probation officer - to the local branch of the Children's Aid Society.

Cornwall police had stopped their investigation after the victim, David Silmser, accepted $32,000 from the church.

Over the next decade, Dunlop would become known in and around Cornwall as the person to speak to if you were a victim of abuse. Along with members of his family, Dunlop conducted numerous off-hours investigations into those abuse claims -including allegations that a clan of pedophiles had preyed on children in the Cornwall area.

A subsequent Ontario Provincial Police investigation charged 15 men with sex crimes but found no evidence of a clan. Some died before their trials; others were acquitted or had the charges stayed. Only one was convicted in Ontario.

Had Dunlop taken the stand, he would have been questioned and cross-examined about his personal investigations, said Engelmann. Some inquiry witnesses testified that Dunlop not only withheld important information from the police and Crown prosecutors, but also that he allegedly encouraged certain victims to embellish their stories. Those topics would have been fair game, said Engelmann, and while the inquiry did hear from Dunlop's wife, Helen, most of her evidence about her husband unfortunately was "second-hand."

"We questioned the former bishop. We questioned the former police chief. We questioned the former executive director of the Children's Aid Society," he said.

"Many of the important players here were questioned by commission counsel and by others. We thought, and we still do think, that Mr. Dunlop was an important player."

Dallas Lee, an attorney who represented about 50 victims and alleged victims, said there was a diverse reaction among his clients to Dunlop's refusal to testify.

Some showed unwavering support for Dunlop, while others were angry that his refusal sidetracked the hearings for so long.

A third, "middle-of-the-road" group said they were disappointed in Dunlop's decision, but understood why he did it, Lee said.

When asked what impact Dunlop's absence had on the inquiry, Lee said the issue proved to be a "distraction" more than anything else. The issue of institutional failure went much farther than "a constable on a municipal police force," he said.

"Essentially, the pitch (from certain public institutions) is going to be that these people brought the entire justice system in Cornwall to its knees," said Lee.

"It makes me scratch my head. It's an absolutely ridiculous argument . . . these institutions failed in many, many, many ways unrelated to Perry Dunlop."

One institution that did want Dunlop to testify was his former employer, the Cornwall Police Service.

"I think everybody in the community would have liked to have heard what Perry had to say," said Danny Aikman, the force's deputy chief. Aikman said Dunlop would likely "play a role" in the CPS's final submissions, adding that a former cop should have been able to handle questioning at the inquiry.

"We had 19 of our witnesses who testified. And they were asked many tough questions, including myself," said Aikman.

"Tough questions are sometimes hard to answer, but it's part of what we do as police officers."

The Dunlops did not respond to a request to be part of this story.

But Coalition for Action attorney Frank Horn stood up for Dunlop - although he added his decision not to testify was entirely his own.

"There's no way that they can say, 'Well, he didn't have any effect (on the inquiry).' His name was thrown around almost daily over there," said Horn.

"This is the guy who got the whole thing started. And our position is that he was a very, very courageous man to even begin the whole process."

Commission counsel had originally intended to enter an overview of documentary evidence (ODE) for Dunlop, as they had for other key players who had either died or were too sick to testify. The ODE would have given the inquiry a narrative of Dunlop's involvement with victims and institutions. But the idea was shelved, said Engelmann, because there was no consensus as to what would go in that overview.

"There were some parties who were arguing that by even attempting to do an overview of documentary evidence, we were allowing Mr. Dunlop to do indirectly what he wasn't able to do directly," said Engelmann.

"And that is, to be present at the inquiry, but not answer questions."

Instead, all the relevant documents were entered into evidence through other witnesses, Engelmann said.

As for the effect Dunlop's disappearing act will have on inquiry commissioner Normand Glaude's final report, scheduled for July 2009, Engelmann said it would hopefully be minimal.

"I certainly don't think it hampers him from a recommendations point-of-view," he said.

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CALLING ALL READERS: We want to hear from you

Today is your final chance to speak your mind about the Cornwall Public Inquiry. This afternoon, reporter Trevor Pritchard will once again be taking your phone calls. Your comments will

appear either in Friday's newspaper or on our website at www.srandard-freeholder.com.

So if you were frustrated with the questions that lawyers asked, or were unhappy with how the institutions responded to years of sexual abuse allegations, or anything else, call 613-933-3160, ext. 251 between noon and 2 p. m.

You can also send a short e-mail expressing your thoughts to tpritchard@standard-freeholder.com.  Names andphone numbers must accompany all submissions. Phone numbers will not be published.

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Inquiry headliners #2

David Silmser

Before the inquiry began, he was known simply as D. S. -the man who was offered $32,000 by the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese in exchange for his silence.

But on the stand, it became clear there was more to David Silmser than that controversial settlement.

The former altar boy testified about his abuse at the hands of three men: a former priest, a now-deceased probation officer, and a local teacher. He spoke about how, by the age of 15, he was living on the streets, stealing to survive.

The $32,000 settlement -paid to Silmser so he wouldn't pursue criminal charges against Rev. Charles MacDonald -became one of the focal points of the three-year inquiry.

So too was the Cornwall Police Service's investigation into MacDonald, which never resulted in charges.

Midway through his cross-examination by MacDonald's lawyers, Silmser bolted from the witness box.

He never finished his testimony.