Freedom ride sets out

The Cowichan Valley Citizen

Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Lexi Bainas

The "Freedom Ride" starts Wednesday.

Roger Robertson of Calgary, astride his Harley Davidson, is hitting the trail to Ontario to shine a light on what he considers a disgraceful situation: the jailing of Duncan's Perry Dunlop.

"We quit our jobs for this and we want to see Perry free," agreed Robertson's wife, Patti Newport, as they sat in Art Mann Park to talk about their crusade.

"I first met Perry in 1991," said Robertson, who freely admits to being well-acquainted with the inside of a jail cell.

Dunlop, an Ontario cop at the time, arrested him. However, the two men became friends. Robertson developed so much respect for the Cornwall, Ontario law officer that he opened up, telling him about how he had

Photo Credit:  Lexi Bainas, Citizen

 Roger Robertson of Calgary is riding his Harley Davidson to Ontario to alert people to Duncan's jailed Perry Dunlop.

been abused sexually. Dunlop's continued attempt to bring paedophiles in eastern Ontario to justice had gained his trust and that of many other convicts and sex abuse victims, Robertson says.

"They all want to shake his hand and say: keep up the fight."

Learning that Dunlop had been taken to Ontario from his Duncan home and jailed there for six months made Robertson and Newport angry enough to take action.

They came up with the idea of a cross-country trek all on their own.

"Perry and Helen Dunlop are not coaching me on this. Nobody coaches me," Roberston said. "I haven't seen Perry since 1991."

Newport agrees, saying that when they heard recently that Dunlop had been jailed for failing to testify in front of an Ontario commission into the situation he originally discovered, they knew what they had to do.

She plans to fly out to Ontario next week and gather up as many victims as she can, then they will join Robertson, who hopes to ride his Harley into Cornwall by the end of this weekend.

The couple has prepared a notice that he'll hand out as he enters various communities. In Ontario, Robertson wants to draw as much attention to the case as he can and, once he's back in Calgary, he plans to continue his efforts on his friend's behalf.

"I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for justice," he said. "I break the law, you can put me away, but they're letting these scumbag paedophiles go free. Perry has been kicked, punched and abused by the legal system. He's not changing his story."

Victims, seeing the treatment Dunlop has received, are now getting fearful about the possibility of landing in jail and are reluctant to come forward, according to Robertson.

Before heading out, he urged supporters to donate to Dunlop's defence in the account set up for him at the Duncan branch of the CIBC bank.

To learn more about the whole Perry Dunlop story, visit www.theinquiry.ca on the Internet.

© Cowichan Valley Citizen 2008