SQLFusion - Alleged sex abuse vicitm testifies no one beleived him

A culture of disbelief: Alleged abuse victim
Project Truth Inquiry told allegations not believed for years
Ottawa Sun
31 January 2007
By Canadian Press
CORNWALL — Police and public agencies took years to believe or even acknowledge allegations of sexual abuse by a local priest, the Cornwall public inquiry heard Tuesday.
Speaking before the inquiry examining charges of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area, David Silmser recalled the day he received a letter from the Children’s Aid Society that confirmed what he had known for 25 years. “I thought, `Somebody finally believes me,”’ Silmser said. “Finally, somebody was working on it. I felt pretty good about it.”
The letter was written in 1994, four months after agency staffers conducted a lengthy interview with Silmser during which he told them he had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by Rev. Charles MacDonald in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The letter, which was signed by two staff members and a supervisor, confirmed Silmser’s allegations. “After careful consideration of all available information, we have concluded our investigation with a finding that you were sexually molested by Father Charles MacDonald when you were a child,” it read.
MacDonald has adamantly denied the allegations put forth by Silmser and other complainants. The priest was charged by officers with the Ontario Provincial Police’s Project Truth team in 1996 with more than a dozen sex-related charges stemming from alleged incidents between 1967 and 1983. In May 2002, a judge stayed the charges, saying MacDonald’s right to a trial in a timely fashion had been infringed upon.
Over the course of several months in 1992, Silmser began to gradually tell his story of alleged abuse to a number of agencies, including the Cornwall Community Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ottawa-Hull Roman Catholic Diocese. In early 1993, Silmser was called to a meeting at the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese’s office where he was asked to recount his experiences in detail, said Silmser. Among those present was a lawyer for the diocese, Jacques Leduc, who was also charged with sex related offences by Project Truth investigators in 1998.
In October 2004, a judge stayed the charges against Leduc, saying the delay in bringing the matter to trial was “not an appropriate time period.” Leduc did most of the talking, Silmser said, and he recalled being asked to tell his story again in detail. Silmser said he was pleased with Leduc’s demeanour during the early 1993 meeting at the diocese’s office. “I felt Jacques Leduc was genuinely concerned about what happened,” said Silmser. “But at the end of the day, I was frustrated because an apology didn’t happen.”
What did eventually happen served as the starting point of a series of events which ultimately led to multiple police investigations and 15 men being charged with more than 100 sex-related crimes. In September 1993, Silmser had another meeting with church officials, but this time it was at the office of Malcolm MacDonald, a city lawyer who was acting as agent for the diocese. In the months that had passed since the first meeting, Silmser had spoken repeatedly with city police officers about his allegations and he wasn’t pleased with what he was hearing. He was the only person who had come forward with allegations against MacDonald, Silmser was told by investigators, and it was going to be tough to prove in court. “(Const. Heidi) Sebalj said they were dropping the case unless some more information came out,” said Silmser. “She said they had nowhere to go with it.”
By the time the September 1993 meeting rolled around, Silmser was convinced he would never see any action taken against MacDonald through a judicial process. That’s when he decided to take diocese officials up on their offer. Silmser would get $10,000 from the diocese, $10,000 from MacDonald and $12,000 for counselling which he was told would be paid through an insurance claim. In order to receive the cash, however, Silmser would have to sign away any right to pursue the matter criminally or civilly in the future. A document provided to the inquiry shows the details of the settlement and is signed by Silmser and Sean Adams, a city lawyer who acted as Silmser’s agent on the deal. The document shows Silmser agreed to “release and forever discharge” MacDonald, then-bishop Eugene LaRocque and the diocese from any past or future actions, claims and demands. The church also included a paragraph pointing out the fact the payment was in no way related to any admission of guilt on MacDonald’s part.
On the day Silmser signed the settlement, he said he spotted Charles MacDonald himself making a brief stop at the lawyer’s office. Silmser said he was so shaken to have seen MacDonald, he barely remembers the content of the documents he signed. Included in the documents was a directive to visit the city police station and inform investigators he did not want his allegations against MacDonald to go forward. Silmser complied with the demands and on Sept. 29, he signed a statement at the city police station indicating he had received a settlement from the diocese and he wished “this matter against Charles MacDonald be closed.” Within a matter of weeks, Perry Dunlop, who was then an officer with the city police, found the file containing Silmser’s allegations against the priest and details of the settlement. Dunlop delivered the file to the CAS and eventually took the matter public through the media. Silmser is expected to continue his testimony Wednesday.