Petepiece claims Anglican minister tried to touch him

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder 

Terri Saunders 

Friday, February 09, 2007 - 10:00 

Local News - When David Petepiece was 10 years old, he hurt his right knee and had to be hospitalized at the Cornwall General Hospital for a couple of weeks. 

As a child raised in the Anglican faith, he was not surprised when a minister from Trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall came to visit him one day. What did shock him was what he says happened during that visit and those that followed. 

"He told me about a job he'd been assigned by the church," said Petepiece. "He asked me to help him."

Petepiece testified at the Cornwall Public Inquiry that what happened on those summer days in 1956 constituted an abuse he says still haunts him today. The priest sat by his bedside, Petepiece said, and explained the "project."

"He asked if I would let him put his hand under the blankets so he could determine the size and change of my penis as it went from flaccid to erect," said Petepiece. 

"He said the church had tasked him to do this?" asked Peter Engelmann, lead counsel for the commission. 

"Yes," said Petepiece. "I didn't allow him." 

The man said each time the priest came back to visit in the days that followed, the request was reiterated. 

"There was more pressure," said Petepiece. "But I didn't succumb." 

As a child, Petepiece said, his father had always made it clear to him and his brother people weren't allowed to touch their "private parts," and that's how he knew what was being asked of him was wrong. Petepiece pulled away from the church after the attempted abuse. He no longer wanted to take part in church events or projects, something which was disappointing to his father and an aunt who were dedicated to their faith. All along, he kept the incidents to himself. 

"I had always been told by my father not to let anyone touch me," Petepiece said. "I didn't know how to react to it. I chose doing nothing as the only course available." 

In 1974, Petepiece and his wife welcomed their first child and began preparations to have their daughter baptized. The couple met with a minister at Trinity Anglican Church whom Petepiece said began lecturing him for not attending church more frequently.

"He was lecturing me quite severely about it," said Petepiece. "He was trying to force me to make a re-entry and that became the triggering moment for me." 

Petepiece said he threw details of the abuse "back in his face," referring to the lecturing minister.

"He didn't react well," said Petepiece. "He was very dismissive about. He said it was no big deal and it had nothing to do with what we were talking about (that) day."

Petepiece said one of the most difficult aspects of the abuse was telling his wife.

"It was a secret on my part," said Petepiece. "We'd been together since high school and we didn't have secrets. That was one part of my life I'd kept locked away." 

In the summer of 1998, Petepiece became aware of Project Truth, an Ontario Provincial Police investigation into historical allegations of child sexual abuse at the prominent members of the Cornwall community and the surrounding area. 

He met with OPP Det. Const. Steve Seguin, one of the investigating officers, and told him what had happened in the hospital more than 40 years earlier.

After little action on the matter, Petepiece asked for something in writing as to why Project Truth investigators were not following up on his allegations. In a letter to Petepiece written by Det. Insp. Pat Hall on July 19, 2001, the reasons for not moving forward were outlined in point form. 

"No criminal offence had been committed," wrote Hall, pointing out the fact there was no crime of invitation to sexual touching included in the Criminal Code of Canada until 1985. 

Hall goes on to talk about how the Project Truth mandate didn't cover the Anglican Church. 

"The mandate of Project Truth was to investigate historic allegations of a sexual nature involving the Catholic Clergy and other prominent persons in the Cornwall area," Hall wrote. "This did not include every sexual assault allegation in the city of Cornwall that was reported, and did not include allegations against members of other religions." 

Hall said any allegations of a criminal nature occurring in the city were passed on to the Cornwall Police Service. 

"I regret you were not completely made aware of our actions or lack of continuation on the investigation," Hall wrote. "This may have been due to miscommunication between Det. Const. Seguin and myself." Criminal charges were never laid against anyone in relation to Petepiece's allegations and the man he believes attempted to abuse him has since passed away.

Last summer, Petepiece met with Anglican Archdeacon Ross Moulton whom he says provided him with the first sense his allegations were being taken seriously. 

In an e-mail sent by Moulton to Petepiece on Aug. 24, 2006, the minister expresses regret for what occurred during the man's hospital stay in the 1950s.

"I regret deeply the hurt you were subjected to those years ago," Moulton wrote.

"Please let me know if there are ways I can be supportive (of) you in this. It is so inadequate for me to say this, but I am truly sorry this happened to you."