Another 63 charges have been laid against Father Paul-Andre Harvey
Harvey, a priest with the Diocese of Chicoutimi in Quebec, was first charged with two counts of gross indecency and three of indecent assault in January. At that time there were three complainants all of whom alleged abuse by Harvey when they were under the age of ten.
Today an additional 63 were laid. There are now at least 35 complainants.
I have posted two articles in relation to the new charges, one in English and the other a google translation of a French article (the original French attached).
23 May 2012: Quebec priest hit with 63 sex charges
23 May 2012: Father Harvey is facing 35 new charges (google translation with original French)
As you can see, there are minor discrepancies between the two articles. According to the English only article most of the complainant are female, while the google translation of the French indicates all complainants are female.
Furthermore, according to the English article, the complainants were between the ages of 5 and 12 when they alleged the abuse transpired, while according to the google translation, they were between the ages of 6 and 19.
If there are errors in the google translation which account for these discrepancies please let me know so that I can correct.
It seems that the allegations stem from the years 1963 to 1995. Father Harvey was ordained June 1962.
Would those of you who are bilingual please keep tabs on this for us? I see no mention of specific court dates and would certainly like to keep track of these charges as they wind their way through ‘the system.’ If anyone can find a court date listed anywhere please either post it as a comment or email it to me at cornwall@theinquiry.ca
Finally, I must commend all of you who found the courage to go to police with your allegations. Good for you! You are not alone, and, as you now know, were not, as you may well have thought and feared for so many years, the only one. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
******
Updates on court-dates:
(1) Father Piotr (Peter) Sanczenko
Trail date was to have been set yesterday. The case has been put over to 17 September 2012 to set a trial date (10 am, Chatham Ontario courthouse)
As I blogged when I first posted the news, I shudder at the very thought that this man might have grounds for an 11b stay based on violation of his Charter rights to a speedy trial.
Father Boudreau will be sentenced at 2 pm, Monday 28 May 2012 in court room # 1, the Guelph Ontario courthouse (59 Carden St.) If you live within driving distance and are free to attend, mark your calendar now. As always I encourage those who can do so to attend. It is important the we all become familiar with the legal system, and it is important that the victims know that there are people who support them.
There is yet another courtdate next week which will be of interest to those who are within driving distance of the Campbellton courthouse in New Brunswick. At 1:30 pm, Monday 28 May there will be testimony from the probation officer who compiled the per-sentence report for Father Yvon Doiron
Doiron pled guilty to four counts of fraud totally more than $116,000. He was to have been sentenced in March, however, his lawyer objected to the pre-sentence report claiming it “painted an unflattering portrait of Mr. Doiron”! So, here we are. Next Monday the probation officer who authored the report will be put on the stand and interrogated.
I hope some of you who live in the area can get there to see and hear first-hand what happens with this .
There are two more courtdates next week, but both are pre-trials and not open to the public (Fathers Jean-Claude Lefebvre and Linus Bastien)
Enough for now,
Sylvia
*This is in my diocese, it’s CHICOUTIMI. I am not a victim of clergy abuse, but a victim of incest. I work for the Church but I am sooo opposed to clergy abuse. Our bishop has acted very fast when the charges were pressed, it says so in the article but I can tell you that Paul-André Harvey was suspended and wasn’t allowed to be with any minor, wasn’t allowed to be in ANY church in ANY diocese, he wasn’t allowed to have any duties that priests have DURING the police investigation. Before charges were brought up in court. Our bishop, Monseigneur André Rivest takes clergy abuse very seriously and has said several times how much his compassion is with the victims of Paul-André Harvey. He never ever ever called them “alleged victims”, and Father Harvey hasn’t had a trial yet but it seems to be clear that he’s guilty. What I mean is that I haven’t heard ANYONE doubt the accusation.
Even in january, when there were 3 victims, from the 1960’s, it was clear in the diocese, not only in the population but within the Church’s worker that it was true. But let me say that there were NO RUMORS that I had ever heard. I worked with him for couple of years and I was shocked, It broke my heart, I felt betrayed that I didn’t SEE that he was an abuser. As a survivor of more than 20 years of incest, I felt like once again, a child molester betrayed my trust. I have to be honest that he was doing good work for people in need, the poor and needy. But he also enjoyed being around with kids and I was at that time a volunteer in the parish with kids.
You were asking about the article, ALL his victims were female, they were between the age of 6-15 and one was 19 at the time. The abuse happened from the years of 1963 to 1995. (that is what is written)
There are no more details. He hasn’t showned his face in court YET, always his lawyer, it kinda pisses me off.
Anyway, this is what I had to say this morning. Thanks for the awesome work you’ve been doing.
Thanks “victim of incest.” I corrected the typo of Chicoutimi 🙂 And thanks for the clarification on ages and years.
It’s good news to hear that Bishop André Rivest is handling these allegations properly. I hope too that Catholics in the diocese are lending support to those who had charges laid. As you know, it is not an easy journey for them – it’s all just a little easier when they know that people care.
I am sorry to hear that you are a victim of incest, and yes, as a victim yourself you must have been shocked. I can tell you too that’s awfully nice to hear that even though you work for the diocese you are not denying the possibility that the allegations are true :).
Please keep us abreast of what happens.