Part of today was committed to updating upcoming court dates and updating the Legal Calendar accordingly. I also tried to confirm the numbers of Dejaeger complainants. No luck as yet but I will explain what I have on hand.
So, first, the upcoming court dates:
(1) ALLEN: Father William Allen
Next court date: 19 April 2011.( 09:30 am. Ottawa courthouse. I was unable to get the courtroom number but that is easy enough to do on arrival at the courthouse)
(2) GRECCO: “Father” Donald Grecco
Seems the breach charge is not all over and swept under rug after all. Grecco’s next court date on the breach of bail charge is 30 March 2011(09:30 am. Court room #1. Picton Ontario courthouse. “To speak to.”)
(3) MARSHALL:Father William Hodgson Marshall csb
Yes, there is yet another Sudbury courtdate: 20 April 2011. (10 am, Courtroom “E” Elm St. Courthouse, Sudbury, Ontario)
It is too soon to find out what happned in Toronto today. If anyone has any news please pass it along. If there is no news I will check with the Toronto courthouse on Thursday or Friday to see if there is another Toronto court date scheduled.
(4) O’KEEFE: Father Kenneth O’Keefe csb
A date has been set for a preliminary hearing: 28 October 2011 ( 10:00 am. Courtroom #10, Ottawa courthouse)
I don’t know how many days have been booked for the hearing I will try to remember to check on that the next time I call the Ottawa courthouse.
Now, re Father Eric Dejaeger and additional complainants .
I called the RCMP detachment in , hoping I could get confirmation on the information I received from the Iqaluit courthouse in Nunavut yesterday. No luck. They can not comment on charges or victims – the information has to come from the courthouse or the Crown. I got the information from the courthouse, but I still would like to have the actual numbers confirmed.
I also learned that yesterday’s courtdate was adjourned because a lawyer or someone was unable to attend. I think therefore that what probably happened is that the charges would have been dealt with and become public knowledge had court proceeded as scheduled yesterday. Because of the adjournment Dejaeger will probably be faced with the new charges on 05 April 2011. And, who knows? by then there may be more?
According to the paperwork at the courthouse, the total number of charges now stands at 17. That is up from my last count of 10.
I still do want to get confirmation on all of this. I left a message with the Chief Crown yesterday and am awaiting a return call.
*****
I added some information to the Father Paul Egan page. The charges against Egan were withdrawn about a month after they were laid. It seems too that Father Egan was back serving in a parish in short order. I gather/hope that means that the diocese conducted an internal investigation into the allegations and concluded they were not credible? Does anyone know?
Does anyone know, for that matter, why the criminal charges were withdrawn?
And, finally, does anyone know what Egan was doing on his sabbatical in 1994? Was he studying somewhere? Where was he and what was he doing for that year?
*****
It’s been nearly a year (May 2010) since Father George Smith was removed from parish duties in the Archdiocese of Charlottetown, PEI following sex abuse allegations from his previous diocese of St. George’s, Newfoundland.
Several months ago the word from RCMP in Newfoundland was that the investigation was still under way and that people across the country were being interviewed. Surely the investigation must be nigh to wrapped up? Has anyone heard anything?
Enough for now,
Sylvia