$5M Selwyn House settlement okayed  

Montreal Gazette 

By Sue Montgomery,

Montreal Gazette justice reporter 

13 January 13, 2009 

 MONTREAL - Former students of Selwyn House who sued for damages resulting from sexual abuse by teachers finally got what they’ve waited for for months Tuesday – approval of their $5-million settlement in their class-action suit.

Superior Court Justice Pierre Gagnon had put off approval last September, saying he was concerned there was no opportunity for victims to opt out if they didn’t like what was being offered.

So far, 35 men claim they were abused by three former teachers of the prestigious Westmount boys’ school – John Aimers, Leigh Seville and James P. Hill – between 1961 and 1991.

Selwyn House must now pay for notices to be placed in major newspapers, including the New York Times, and victims have 90 days to approach the lawyers handling the class-action suit.

The school can then either accept or reject individuals, although the lawyers for plaintiffs can appeal the decision.

One of the victims, known only as TY, said it is just “end of the beginning.”

“We want to get on with criminal charges against the school administration who instigated the cover-up of this whole thing, starting from 1991,” he said.

An affidavit filed in the case states that parents of a student voiced concerns that teacher Leigh Seville was a pedophile in 1983.

The school told the parents not to worry and the student went on an extended field trip with Seville, the document says. The school has said it first learned of the allegations eight years later.

The chairman of Selwyn’s board, Ted Claxton, called the approval “an important landmark in the process” and hoped it would allow the former students to get on with their lives.

As for possible criminal charges, he said, “People talk and will talk.

“If someone wants to proceed criminally, there is a process for that.”

TY said what the victims really want is an apology from the school.

The settlement, Claxton said, “provides for appropriate things to be said at appropriate times,” including apologies.

 smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette 

I wrote a comment this morning. it never appeared. it was clean and non-inflamatory. I hope comments aren't being spiked.      

The Gazette's consistent lack of coverage on the story might have something to do with their ties to the school, no Mr. Goldbloom?      

I am also appalled at the size of the print coverage that the Gazette gave to this story today Jan 14 2009. CTV news and the internet version both dealt with it with a depth worthy of responsible news media. 24 square centimetres on the bottom of page A9 with no byline really makes me wonder what or who might be behind this "journalistic" decision.      

Fantastic online coverage of this important story. Today's "print" version is laughably tiny and hidden on the bottom of page A9 in the Gazette. Who benefits from this editorial choice? Certainly not readers' confidence. I'm a bit shocked by the Gazette's behavior.      

 Thanks sue. so much more to do. UCC comes out like a rose      

And way to go you guys.

next...............BCS      

 Amazing that Mr. Claxton still can't manage those three little words "We are sorry".

 Selwyn House School continues to be an embarrassment.  

Elite school to pay $5M for abuse allegations 

CTV.ca  

Updated Tue. Jan. 13 2009 7:28 PM ET 

CTV.ca News Staff 

Selwyn House, the prestigious school for boys, is seen in Montreal on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. 

An exclusive Montreal boys' school must pay $5 million in damages to dozens of former students who say they were sexually assaulted by teachers over three decades, Quebec's top court said Tuesday.  

The sex abuse allegations centre upon three former teachers at Selwyn House School and date back to the 1960s.  

While the ruling was hailed as a victory, one of the alleged victims told CTV News that the school still hasn't fully accepted responsibility. 

"Money doesn't get back anybody's lives," said the former student, who cannot be identified under a court order.

 "There are so many destroyed lives," he added, signaling that he and others will continue to push for criminal charges against the school for allegedly covering up the abuse. 

The Quebec Superior Court ruling marks the conclusion of a painful and protracted legal process and comes more than three years after several former students launched a class-action lawsuit against the school.  

Last August, the court and the school agreed on a settlement, but the judge didn't approve the agreement because it didn't adequately address the legal rights of potential victims to opt out. 

At least 34 students have come forward so far, but that number could grow over the next three months.

As part of the settlement, the school must pay for advertisements in major newspapers, notifying other potential victims that they have 90 days to contact lawyers working on the suit. 

Court documents, which were unsealed in August, suggested that Selwyn House administrators were aware of the abuse complaints as early as 1971, but instead kept the allegations out of the public eye.  

Selwyn House officials, meanwhile, have said they only became aware of the abuse allegations in 1991.  

The teachers outlined in court documents are James Hill, Leigh Seville and John Aimers, who is the co-founder of the Monarchist League of Canada.  

Seville killed himself in 1991 after the school confronted him about the sexual abuse complaints, and Hill's whereabouts aren't known.

 "It is a victory," said lawyer Bryan McPhadden, who has represented some of the former students.

He added that it's a victory for the claimants and "for justice." Meanwhile, the school said it will soon release a letter apologizing to former students. "We have agreed to issue a statement of regret and apology," Selwyn House representative Jonathan Goldbloom told CTV Montreal. 

He added that the school is "upset" and shares "the anguish" of the former students. 

In May of last year, a teacher at the school was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex online from a 13-year-old boy. Richard Doucet, who taught elementary school, was arrested by police in a motel room in Fredericksburg, Va. 

After his arrest, police searched Doucet's computer and allegedly found a CD filled with images of child pornography. 

Selwyn House agrees to $5M fund for alleged sex-abuse victims

 CBC News  

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 | 8:20 PM ET  

The Quebec Superior Court has approved a $5-million compensation fund for former students, their partners and their parents for alleged sexual abuse at the exclusive Montreal private school Selwyn House.

The settlement announced Tuesday evening comes more than three years after nearly 35 former students launched a class-action lawsuit against the school over allegations dating back to the 1960s.

Their lawsuit names three teachers — Leigh Seville, James P. Hill and John Aimers — who are all accused of molesting the former students. None of the allegations has been proven.

Last year, Judge Pierre Gagnon rejected a $5-million compensation fund offered by the school to settle the lawsuit because it didn't contain an opt-out clause for alleged victims to sue individually if they felt the compensation wasn't enough.

Selwyn House and the alleged victims' lawyers rewrote the proposal to include an opt-out clause, and the judge signed off on the settlement.

Seville committed suicide in 1991 after being confronted by school authorities about the allegations of abuse. He taught at Selwyn House, located in the tony Montreal Island municipality of Westmount, in the 1970s and 1980s.

 Hill's whereabouts are unknown. He was an instructor between 1961 and 1972.

Aimers, the former head of the Monarchist League of Canada, taught debating in the 1970s. He signed the 2007 settlement agreement filed in court and denies any wrongdoing.

 The school must pay for notices of the settlement in major newspapers. Alleged victims have 90 days to file a claim for compensation from the fund. 

One alleged Selwyn House victim, known only by the initials T.Y., said the one thing he and his fellow students need is the one thing the school has yet to offer — an apology. For its part, Selywn House has said it will apologize at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way. But T.Y. said he's going to the police on Wednesday to file a criminal complaint and to ask them to launch an investigation. 

Man held on sex charges is a beloved choirmaster 

Montreal Gazette 

By SUE MONTGOMERY, Montreal   

Published May 12, 2008

MONTREAL - Parishioners at a Catholic church in Notre Dame de Grâce were numb yesterday after learning that the Selwyn House teacher arrested Thursday on child pornography charges is also their beloved choirmaster.

"I know him as a good man who is well-respected among everybody," said Elizabeth Fokoefs, of St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish on N.D.G. Ave. "Everyone is in shock right now."

She said Richard Doucet, who was arrested in Virginia on charges of soliciting a 13-year-old boy over the Internet and possession of child pornography, was "part of the community" and had "done many wonderful things."

"It's hard, it's really, really hard," a choked-up Fokoefs said, adding that she has known Doucet for a long time and considers him a friend.

Doucet also filled in as organist and choirmaster at St. Monica's Catholic Church on Terrebonne Ave. when St. Augustine's was moving to its present location.

"He was a lovely guy," said Sheila Moriarty, a parishioner from St. Monica's. "I know the choir over (at St. Augustine's) is very upset."

Doucet, who has no children but has been married for about five years to a woman who sings in the St. Augustine's adult choir that he leads, is to be arraigned today or tomorrow in Fredericksburg, Va.

Police there say Doucet had gone to meet who he thought was a boy he contacted on the Internet. Instead, he was met by an undercover detective.

Doucet has been a popular elementary teacher at the private boys' school in Westmount since 1999, and this year he was homeroom teacher to Grades 3 and 5.

For victims of a past sex-abuse scandal at the elite school that was settled in court last month, the news of another teacher suspected of child sex crimes is sad but not surprising.

 "Selwyn House hasn't changed one whit in 100 years," said one man named in the suit, known by court order only as TY. "They're going to pretend nothing happened."

Some former Selwyn House students allege they were molested by teachers there in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

A Superior Court Justice has yet to decide whether the $5-million settlement agreed on between Selwyn House and the alleged victims will be accepted by the court, but victims in the suit say it's not about the money.

What they want is acknowledgement of what happened, pointing out that a representative from Selwyn House didn't even appear in court when the settlement was presented two weeks ago.

 "It's so hypocritical," said another victim, known only as MG, in an interview from Toronto. "They talk about it as being so important, yet they don't even show up in court.

"It disgusts me."

After holding three days of information sessions for close to 200 parents at the school over the weekend, the headmaster, William Mitchell, issued a statement late yesterday afternoon to parents, saying Montreal police are working with Virginia police, as well as starting their own investigation.

"In the interim, we have reviewed Mr. Doucet's emails and his folders on the Selwyn House system and checked his desks," Mitchell wrote.

"We have found nothing that is inappropriate."

Mitchell also said that the school would be setting up a committee to look at "current policies, procedures and programs."

The committee, he said, will be asked to report back before the end of June.

One father - whose son is in Grade 2 at Selwyn House and who came away "alarmed" from an information session - wondered how the committee would be chosen and who would be on it.

"This needs to be exhaustive and open," said the man, who spoke on condition that his name not be used.

"It can't be done behind closed doors and then say: 'We've looked at it and everything's wonderful.' "

The father said he felt like the school was doing damage control and questioned the school's claim that Doucet was an effective teacher and respected colleague.

 "To me, it shows either ignorance about how pedophiles act or a wilful desire to protect the teacher over the boys," he said, pointing out that pedophiles often gain people's trust.MG agreed. "Unfortunately, this is typical behaviour of a pedophile in a community setting," he said. "They ingratiate themselves within a community to gain the trust of the innocent children they prey upon and to ensure their behaviour is never suspect."

Parents emerging from information sessions at the school yesterday were shocked, given that everyone thought Doucet was a great teacher.

"I never saw anything but respect or appropriate behaviour toward the children," said Leigh Guerriero, whose 10-year-old son had Doucet as a teacher last year.

"I don't think the children believe it, either," she said while on her way to attend an information session yesterday.

"The way the school has handled everything, it has only strengthened my confidence in the people here."

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Jason Magder of the Gazette contributed to this report