Chisholm sets up Dunlop trust fund

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

14 December 2007

Posted By Elisabeth Johns

The brother-in-law of an ex-city cop and whistleblower has set up a trust fund to help the man with living expenses, legal fees and a possible flight to return to the city.

Carson Chisholm is hoping people will donate to aid Perry Dunlop, his wife, Helen, and their three children.

Since being subpoenaed to attend the Cornwall Public Inquiry, Chisholm said the Dunlops have lost money because they've had to take time off work.

The Dunlops moved to Duncan, B.C., from Cornwall in 2000.

Dunlop was called to testify at the inquiry in September. He repeatedly refused to testify, or answer questions, saying he does not believe in the inquiry's mandate and then provided the commission with a 110-page willstate he wrote in 2000.

Dunlop said that statement was much better representation of his memory of the events surrounding contact he had with victims, alleged victims and public institutions.

Dunlop, who conducted his own investigations in the 1990s into historical child sexual abuse in Cornwall, was found guilty by three judges for contempt of court at the Ontario Divisional Court in Toronto on Nov. 19.

He was ordered by the divisional court to return to the inquiry Jan. 14 to testify. A date for sentencing on the contempt conviction is expected to be set following that appearance.

At the time, Dunlop wrote to the divisional court to say he has "no intention of testifying at the Cornwall inquiry now or ever."

If he shows up and does not testify in the new year, or does not show up, he could be in contempt of court of a divisional court ruling and could face further charges.

Chisholm isn't entirely convinced Dunlop will testify either - or even return to the Seaway City - which is why he said the trust fund isn't necessarily for a plane ride back to Cornwall, but to help with financial difficulties they've faced during the inquiry.

Helen, Chisholm's sister, he said, was involved in a car accident before their return to Cornwall in September and has had difficulties returning to work.

Dunlop and his family have been heralded by many as an advocate for sexual abuse victims and has also been seen as a whistleblower.

Dunlop has said he first became aware of allegations against a city priest in the fall of 1993 and attempted to uncover what he believed was both a ring of pedophiles working in concert to abuse children and protect one another from being charged by authorities.

Others have alleged Dunlop coerced people to embellish their complaints.

Sexual abuse survivors have said Dunlop was the first person they ever felt believed them.

While others still, including Chisholm, have said the inquiry is simply a Dunlop witch-hunt.

If you want to make a donation to the Perry Dunlop trust fund, Chisholm has set up an account at TD Canada Trust. The account number is 6315829.

The TD Canada Trust Branch number is 2312. The cheque, however, must be made payable to Carson Chisholm in trust, as Chisholm explained he cannot set up an account with someone else's name on it.

The mailing address is: T.D. Canada Trust, 61 - 9th Street East, Cornwall, Ontario, K6H 6R3.