Former teacher overcome by emotion

Cornwall Standard Freeholder
01 November 2006

Terri Saunders

Local News - Dawn Raymond looked directly at the audience at the Cornwall Public Inquiry Tuesday and, through her tears, pleaded with victims not to blame themselves for the abuse they suffered as children.

"The abuse was not your fault," said the former Gladstone Public School teacher, her voice shaking with emotion. "You did nothing wrong. You are a good person. It took courage to come here and speak."

Raymond then expressed aloud her desire not to cry, but failed to heed her own advice.

"Don't despair," she said, finally breaking down in tears. "Tomorrow is full of hope and promises. The best is yet to come."

Her message was one she's been longing to deliver to the hundreds of sexual abuse victims in the community ever since a cold day in January 1986 when 14-year-old Scott Burgess, one of her former students, visited her at school to tell her something horrible had been happening to him.

He had been repeatedly sexually abused by Jean-Luc Leblanc, an employee at the Transport Canada Training Institute. Leblanc would go on to be sentenced to probation for sex crimes against young boys and eventually abuse again, this time while working as a school bus driver in the Newington area.

Raymond had taught Burgess in her special education class at Gladstone, but the boy only came forward about the abuse after he'd been attending special education classes at Central Public School.

"How did you feel (when Burgess told you what happened?)" asked Peter Engelmann, lead commission counsel.

"I was horrified," said Raymond, who would also come to learn Burgess' brother, Jody, was also being abused by Leblanc. "I felt really sad about it, that this was happening to these nice kids."

Raymond said she was even more horrified to learn Leblanc had received probation for his crimes and went on to become a bus driver.

"He got a pedophile's dream job - driving a school bus," said Raymond. "How did he get a license? I was horrified. It's a parent's worst nightmare."

Leblanc was convicted a second time when he pleaded guilty in 2001 to sexually assaulting a number of young boys. He received eight and a half years in prison followed by 10 years of strict supervision after being declared a long-term offender.

Under cross-examination by an attorney representing the Ministry of the Attorney General, Raymond was told that during Leblanc's

1986 sentencing hearing, a judge heard evidence from a psychologist which suggested the bus driver had "received treatment" and was deserving of a non-custodial sentence.

"That's interesting," said Raymond. "I didn't think pedophiles could be treated."

Raymond said she was impressed with the swift action on the part of the Children's Aid Society and the Cornwall Community Police Service in 1986.

"They responded very quickly," she said, "and they believed us."

Raymond had words of praise for Bruce Duncan, who was then a case worker with the CAS. She said she was impressed by his approach with Burgess during an interview with the boy at his school.

"Bruce sat behind me while I asked questions, because he felt Scott would be more comfortable talking to me," she said. "He was taking notes and he was feeding me questions. He was very good."

In making recommendations as to how institutions can better handle abuse allegations in the future, Raymond said she would like to see stiffer penalties for convicted pedophiles.

"Why are we letting them out on the street if they can't be cured?" she asked. "Put them in jail and throw away the key."

Raymond said officials in the justice system must work harder to ensure appropriate sentences are handed down for crimes.

"(Leblanc) got a slap on the wrist," she said. "Scott, Jody and I got a slap on the face."