Afternoon’s testimony from Iqaluit courthouse

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Some details of the afternoon’s testimony  at the Iqaluit court house and the sex abuse trial of Father Eric Dejager:

(1) In the afternoon a male testified that when he was a boy Father Eric Dejager ‘raped’ his dog (buggered his dog?) and afterwards sodomized him,(the witness).  The witness testified that Dejaeger put him on the table in the furnace room of the church.  A nail pierced his chest.  He still has the scar.  The scar was shown in court.

He told the court that, after his friend was also sodomized by Dejager,  his friend bled from the rectum.  That friend committed suicide years later

The witness described in graphic detail how he was forced to give Dejaeger oral sex.

He testified that after Dejaeger left Igloolik his father shot Dejaeger’s dog. The dog had apparently been abandoned by Dejaeger;

 The witness broke down in tears frequently throughout his testimony;

(4)  Father Dejaeger’s lawyer ensured those testifying did not have to face Dejaeger as they testified;

(5)  Dejaeger has apparently become quite animated and is passing notes to his lawyer.  I am told he appears fit and well.  He is very attentive. At times his face reddens.

Enough for now,

Sylvia

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10 Responses to Afternoon’s testimony from Iqaluit courthouse

  1. michel bertrand says:

    Sylvia I wonder if any settlements are prior to his being sent to Baker Lake. In that case Bishop Rouleau would be proven to have lied. Strenght to all the victim. It is awful to hear the atrocious evil of this bugger’s actions. Totally demoralizing.

    • Sylvia says:

      That’s a good question Michel. Any lawsuits I have heard of have been in more recent years, and certainly post Baker Lake, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any pre-Baker Lake. Hopefully if there were any we will hear about.

      What’s it like for you Michel, watching this horror unfold?

  2. michel bertrand says:

    Bitter sweet, Sylvia, I am glad that a light is being shined into what must have been a dark, lonely and devastating period for his victims. I am sad that
    all the poor souls who must retell their story and I pray they will be lifted to a better place. I will be glad when it is done.

  3. Sylvia says:

    Thanks michel. Yes, I am sure it is bitter sweet.

  4. michel bertrand says:

    The biggest regret I have is to not have included Igloolik in our inquiries of Baker Lake. It was a crisis community wide and we focused on the Keewatin district and did not even consider his past placements. Might have been a different outcome. To the victims of Igloolik, my sincere apologies Be strong your justice will come, you have nothing to blame on your childhood selves. The fault for your longstanding pain solely rest on Dejeager’s shoulders.

    • Sylvia says:

      I’m surprised Michel that the police didn’t investigate in Igloolik.

      I’ve been thinking too with all the testimony that we’ve heard to date that’s it’s virtually impossible that he didn’t do to the children in Baker Lake what he had done to the children in Igloolik. The man had an insatiable and depraved sexual appetite. There is no way he changed when he hit Baker Lake. Impossible. He probably even bought a poor little puppy somewhere or picked one out of a litter?

      The thing is that he entered guilty pleas to all of the charges, so there was no public graphic and horrific testimony such as we are hearing from the courtroom this week. But, the Crown would have known the nature of the sex abuse, as wouldhave Dejaeger’s lawyer. I am sure too that someone with Oblates would have been privy to the details regarding the allegations, at the very least his immediate superior because they without doubt (or their insurers) were footing the bill? Ditto surely the Oblate Bishop of the Churchill-Hudson Bay Diocese (then Bishop Alfred Robidoux).

      What I’m thinking is that by the time Dejager had been charged yet again and decided to bolt there surely was enough known about his sexual proclivities to know the man was a menace to Catholic children of all ages? Perhaps the Baker Lake abuse wasn’t of the same nature as that that we know know transpired in Igloolik, but, gosh, I’m having difficulty believing that it wasn’t.

      And who in their right mind with an ounce of care for children would be party to letting something like that loose on an unwitting populace anywhere? And then of course there’s the question of what did Church officials know at the time? I think they must have known what a maniac he was. So, why was he not given boot? first out of the Oblates, and then out of priesthood, and, honestly, I think the man should have been excommunicated.

      • Agnes says:

        “…what did Church officials know at the time? I think they must have known what a maniac he was. So, why was he not given boot? first out of the Oblates, and then out of priesthood, and, honestly, I think the man should have been excommunicated.”

        YES.

        Those poor people. Our court system must do something.

      • Michel Bertrand says:

        That is why knowing dates of settlements would show that they where aware of the nature of the beast and therefore are responsible for the traumas to children, their families and the community in Baker Lake. His plea of guilt was seen as being thoughtful towards the children by not having them testify and factored in his sentencing. Remember the judge in Baker Lake was not convinced this man was a peadofile. I remember how bad he traumatised the children in Baker Lake and it was as depraved.

  5. Arctic Snow says:

    If more people from Igloolik were to know this site, i know for sure that there would be an uproar going on. I am from Igloolik, and I can only remember “father” eric as a friendly priest, always smiling.
    Couple of days after he did something to me, he still had that friendly, smiling face!! sometimes, his face would turn red from just smiling and laughing. It creeps me to my bones how bad a pedophile, a child molester can go to satisfy its desires!! Uargh!

  6. Agnes says:

    Yes gives me the creeps too. There is no way anyone would ever know, or guess. The extra-smiling ones can be even creepier- what are they hiding? Sadly, to children, that collar speaks authority.. I think the split personality (holy on the outside, evil on the inside) must be part of the pedophile priest personality…. It is Not Real.

    They are pretend-people, pleased with pretend-love. It’s sick.

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