Controversial ex-Cornwall cop to leave jail Saturday Refused to testify at Project Truth inquiry into sex abuse allegations

Ottawa Sun (canoe.ca) 

 03 October 2008 

By Canadian Press 

A former police officer jailed for refusing to testify before a public inquiry into child-sex abuse in eastern Ontario is slated for release from his Ottawa cell on Saturday.  

 Perry Dunlop has spent seven months in custody on civil and criminal contempt charges. Dunlop was instrumental in sparking the judicial inquiry looking at how allegations of a sexual abuse in the Cornwall area were handled in the 1990s. Despite his key role, he refused to testify despite repeated requests and court orders he do so, saying he had lost faith in the justice system.  

He was arrested at his home in Duncan, B.C., in February amid a blaze of orchestrated publicity. Supporters say he is the victim of a system determined to cover up a pedophile ring.  

In September, Dunlop was sentenced to 30 days in jail for criminal contempt of court after having served six months for civil contempt. He told the court he meant no disrespect by ignoring the judge’s order and only had issue with the Cornwall Public Inquiry.  

Had Dunlop reversed his decision while serving the six-month term and agreed to give evidence at the inquiry, he could have been released. The sentence for the criminal conviction did not carry that option, and Dunlop was compelled to serve the full 30 days.

Dunlop began looking into an alleged pedophile ring that supposedly involved senior civic officials, clergymen and police officers on his own time in 1993.  

A provincial police investigation led to 114 charges against 15 men, but resulted in only one conviction.

 Despite Dunlop’s vehement claims, “Project Truth” found no evidence of an organized sex abuse ring.