Sex abuser sentenced
Xtra West
Thursday, 20 August 1998 No 131
A former residential school supervisor and West End resident was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing his students.
Paul Leroux, 58 pleaded guilty in a Northwest Territories court to nine counts of gross indecency. Justice John Vertes also found him guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted buggery.
The 14 offences stem from Leroux’s 12-year career at Grollier Hall, the last Catholic residential school to close in Canada.
Leroux, who also has served as a justice of the peace and complaints investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, is the third former supervisor at Grollier Hall to be convicted of sexual abuse.
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Ex- school official given 10 years
Kingston Whig Standard
17 August 1998
A former residential school supervisor was sentenced Saturday to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing teenage students in his care from 1967 to 1979.
Paul Leroux, 58, sat motionless with his right hand firmly clenched to his forehead while Justice John Vertes addressed each of the 14 counts he had been convicted of Friday relating to his 12 years at Grollier Hall.
“In a trial such as this, my judgment must take into account the guilty pleas entered by the accused,” said Vertes, referring to the nine counts of gross indecency Leroux, 58, had pleaded guilty to when the trial began Aug. 4.
“But I must also take into account the gross misuse of trust the accused showed towards those in his care and he must be punished.”
In addition to the nine counts of gross indecency, Vertes found Leroux guilty of three counts of indecent assault, one count of attempt to commit indecent assault and one count of attempted buggery.
He was also given a 10-year weapons prohibition.
“The 14 victims are all grown men now but many bear significant psychological wounds as outlined in the victim impact statements I have reviewed,” said the judge.
`PROTECTION’
“I understand my judgment may not be significant to some in their healing process. The ruling to be made today is one that deals with protection of society.”
Leroux was found not guilty of seven additional counts including gross indecency and indecent assault. The sentence will include the nearly 15 months Leroux has served in remand custody since his arrest.
Crown prosecutor Scott Couper had requested a 15-year sentence for Leroux while the defence suggested three years be added to time already served.
Those attending the Saturday sentencing showed little emotion as the frail-looking Leroux was ushered from the courtroom.
Outside, family members, most of whom are of native ancestry, hugged and at least two of Leroux’s victims embraced one another. Several approached Couper for a hug or a handshake.
Grollier Hall opened in 1959 and was run by the Catholic church until 1985. When it closed in 1997 it was one of Canada’s last residential schools.
Leroux, who once served as a justice of the peace and later as a complaints investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, is the third supervisor from Grollier Hall to be convicted of sexual abuse.
The other two are currently serving jail time.
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School supervisor guilty of sex assault
Edmonton Journal
15 August 1998
Brent Pushkarenko, Special to The Journal
A clutch of former residential school students embraced each other in an Inuvik courtroom Friday after five guilty verdicts were read against the man who sexually abused them.
More hugs were exchanged outside the court with police officers who worked on the case against Paul Leroux, former supervisor of Grollier Hall residential school for Inuit and Indian students.
Leroux had earlier pleaded guilty to nine charges of gross indecency.
He is expected to be sentenced today.
Justice John Vertes also found the 58-year-old guilty on charges of indecent assault and attempting to commit buggery. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 17.
Leroux, supervisor of Grollier Hall from 1967 to 1979, was found not guilty on one charge each of indecent assault and gross indecency in an alleged incident involving a 12-year-old boy.
He was also found not guilty on four additional sex charges.
“It is a judge’s responsibility in a case like this to apply proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Vertes told a packed courtroom. “I recognize my findings disappoint some and are looked upon favourably by others, but in a criminal trial we must deal with the facts.”
The Crown has asked for a 15-year sentence, saying Leroux breached the trust of those around him while in a position of authority.
Defence lawyer Jim Brydon has asked for a five-year sentence, including the fifteen months Leroux has already spent in custody. Brydon said his client has not reoffended since he left the school in 1979.
Dr. Peter Collins, a Vancouver psychiatrist, testified Thursday at a sentencing hearing that without a proper examination it would be difficult to conclude Leroux is a pedophile with a high risk to reoffend.
He did, however, suggest evidence seized during a police raid on Leroux’s Vancouver apartment in March of last year, including videotapes, photographs and information stored in a computer, suggests there’s reason to believe he may still have an attraction towards young boys.
“I’ve never known pedophiles to be totally curable,” Collins testified.
Leroux, who once served as a justice of the peace and later as a complaints investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission, apologized to his victims Friday.
“I wish to apologize to all the people hurt by my actions,” he said. “I also want to apologize to their families, the community, the aboriginal community as a whole and the Roman Catholic Church.
“I hope and pray these individuals can forgive me.”
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Former judge admits to sex with boys in his care; Victims as young as 14 years old
Edmonton Journal
12 August 1998
Brent Pushkarenko, Special to The Journal
A former residential school supervisor, who once sat as a judge for the family and juvenile court, has admitted to having sex with teenage boys under his care.
Paul Leroux, 58, who served as senior boys supervisor at Grollier Hall from 1967 to 1979, has pleaded guilty to nine counts of gross indecency.
He faces a further 12 charges, including gross indecency and indecent assault.
On Tuesday, Leroux testified his sexual activities with his former students were confined to fondling and oral sex.
“I am solely responsible,” he said in response to questions from his lawyer Jim Bryden.
“I affected people in a very bad way. I wish to apologize and try to express my remorse.”
Leroux spent the day on the witness stand, at one time testifying that teenage boys in this Arctic community would sometimes ask to visit his home.
“They would come over to socialize and have a drink,” he said. “I would supply wine mostly. I wanted to open their minds to different social situations, such as wine at dinner.
“I never set out with the intention of using alcohol as a mechanism for sexual activity.”
Leroux broke down on the stand when Bryden asked him to recall his own childhood in Granby, Quebec. He testified that he, too, had been a victim of sexual abuse while he was a teenager in a choir.
When asked by Bryden, “Do you believe the residents should be responsible for some of their actions?” Leroux said, “No, I am solely responsible.”
During cross-examination, the Crown portrayed Leroux as a man who lured youths to his room, looking to take advantage of them by using alcohol and pornography, and a man who later destroyed photographic evidence to keep his secret.
Grollier Hall opened in Inuvik in 1959. A Catholic-run residence for Inuit and Indian high-school students, it was run by the church until 1985.
One of the last residential schools in Canada, it closed in 1997.
Leroux was supervisor at the school for nearly 13 years, starting in 1967. During his time in Inuvik, he was also a member of Big Brothers, a justice of the peace and a family and juvenile court judge.
He left the school in 1979. Two years later, he went to work in Edmonton as a complaints investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In 1987, he was promoted to regional director in Vancouver.
Leroux originally faced 44 sexual assault and abuse charges. When his trial began Aug. 3, he pleaded guilty to nine charges of gross indecency. The Crown has since dropped 20 charges. Three additional charges have yet to be dealt with.
Closing arguments in the case are expected to begin Thursday.
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Man jailed for sexual assaults on students
Saskatoon Star Phoenix
08 August 1997
YELLOWKNIFE (CP) — A 67-year-old former supervisor at a residential school in the Western Arctic has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually assaulting students in the 1960s.
Jerzy George Maczynski pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault on former residents of Grollier Hall in Inuvik, N.W.T., and was sentenced Wednesday in Territorial Court in Yellowknife.
Maczynski, who is already serving time for another crime in an undisclosed Canadian prison, must serve the four-year sentence in addition to his existing term.
He is among three former Grollier Hall supervisors charged with sexual offences dating back to the 1960s.
Maczynski worked at the hall in 1966 and 1967, overseeing a dormitory at the school.
Paul Leroux, 57, faces 40 counts of sexual assault and is to appear in court Aug. 19.
Jean Comeau, 63, is to appear Aug. 25 on two counts of sexual assault.
Leroux is a former justice of the peace, human rights investigator and Big Brother. He moved to Inuvik in 1967 and left in 1978.
Comeau was employed at Grolier Hall from 1959 to 1965.
Maczynski and Comeau were identified and charged during the RCMP investigation into Leroux.
Police have interviewed more than 350 former students who stayed at the hall and identified 21 victims.
Grollier Hall housed students aged five to 19 and was supervised by lay employees of the Roman Catholic Church until the mid-1980s.
Students stayed at the hostel while attending school in Inuvik, more than 1,000 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife.
Leroux, who is being held in custody outside the territory, also faces child pornography charges related to an April 2 search of his Vancouver apartment by RCMP investigating the Inuvik case.
Leroux lived for seven years in Beauval, Sask., where he also worked as a dormitory supervisor, police said.
He moved to Inuvik in 1967 and held several high-profile positions, including justice of the peace, judge for family and juvenile courts, hockey coach, soccer coach and Big Brother.
Leroux was hired by the Employment and Immigration Department in 1980 and became an investigator with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Vancouver in 1981.
He went on to become regional director of the commission and retired in 1995. He performed contract work with the federal rights watchdog until last year.
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| Former justice of the peace faces eight new sex chargesVancouver Sun
Tuesday, 08 July 1997 Inuvik, N.W.T. – – A former justice of the peace, human rights investigator and Big Brother was hit with eight new sex charges involving teenage boys at a court appearance Monday. Paul Leroux, who reserved his plea, now faces a total of 40 charges related to incidents at a dormitory he supervised. The eight new charges arose from interviews with hundreds of former residents of Grollier Hall, which housed students aged 5 – 19 and was supervised, until the mid 1980’s, by lay employees of the Roman Catholic Church. Students stayed at the hostel while attending school in Inuvik, more than 1,000 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. Investigators still have several dozen interviews to go, said RCMP Sergeant Tom Steggles. There are now 19 former residents claiming to be victims. Leroux, 57, will be held in custody until his Aug. 19 court appearance before the Territorial Supreme Court in Yellowknife. Leroux now faces 16 counts of gross indecency, 19 counts of indecent assault and five counts of buggery. In addition to the Inuvik charges, he faces child pornography charges related to an April 2 search of his Vancouver apartment by RCMP investigating the Inuvik case. |
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Pardoned man faces 32 new sex charges
Saskatoon Star Phoenix
02 July 1997
INUVIK, N.W.T. (CP) — Like thousands of other kids in the Northwest Territories, Bernice Lavoie had to venture to Inuvik every fall if she wanted a high-school education.
More than 20 years later, Lavoie, now 36, says the town is angry and confused after a man convicted and then apparently pardoned for a 1979 sex offence at Grollier Hall was charged with 32 new offences at the school’s male dormitory.
“There’s some anger out there,” said Lavoie, acting executive director for the family counselling centre run by the Canadian Mental Health Association in Inuvik.
Quebecer Paul Leroux, 57, a former justice of the peace, sports coach and Big Brother, is alleged to have sexually abused 15 boys he supervised at the dormitory between 1967 and 1979.
Leroux worked as a playground supervisor in his home town of Granby, Que., before moving to a small town in Saskatchewan as a school residence supervisor and then to Inuvik, 1,000 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife.
The 32 charges were laid in January after a complaint by a former resident of Grollier.
Leroux is now in jail awaiting a court appearance after not applying for bail last week. He has also been charged with child pornography after a raid on his Vancouver apartment in April.
Leroux pleaded guilty in 1979 to contributing to juvenile delinquency the sexual molestation of a teenage boy.
He was sentenced to four months in jail by a fellow juvenile court judge who said Leroux had suffered significantly and had served the community well.
Leroux appears to have received a pardon RCMP now say he has no criminal record.
Lavoie, a Metis who grew up near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., described Leroux as a slick, likable man who volunteered in various capacities to work with children.
A senior federal Justice Department lawyer couldn’t explain the apparent pardon because it appears to have been granted so quickly.
“That’s surprising,” said Yvan Roy, responsible for criminal law policy at the Justice Department in Ottawa.
Although he cautioned he is not familiar with Leroux’s case, he said there’s a good chance any pardon was granted under the Criminal Records Act. It requires the applicant show good conduct for three to five years.
“If this guy was found guilty in 1979, he could not have applied for this before 1984,” Roy said. “If he got employment in 1981, then he still had a record.”
Leroux was hired by the Employment and Immigration Department in 1980 and became an investigator with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Vancouver in 1981.
He went on to become regional director of the commission and retired in 1995. He performed contract work with the federal rights watchdog until last year.
The commission says it didn’t know about the sexual conviction. Its Ottawa office couldn’t confirm whether a criminal record check had been conducted in 1981.
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Arrest in Grollier Hall sex case
Former boys supervisor faces 32 counts of sexual assault on his students
Northern News Services
16 June 1997
by Glenn Taylor
Northern News Services
INUVIK (June 16/97) – A former senior boys supervisor at Inuvik’s Grollier Hall student residence faces 32 counts of sexual assault.
Paul Leroux, 57, was arrested in Vancouver last week and brought to Inuvik, where he is scheduled to appear in court July 7 to answer 32 charges of sexual assault involving 15 victims. Most of the alleged victims were boys between 14 and 18 years old, and all were residents of Grollier, according to RCMP Sgt. Tom Steggles of Yellowknife community policing.
Inuvik RCMP launched their investigation in January, after a former Grollier resident complained to them about Leroux.
On April 2, Vancouver police searched Leroux’s Vancouver home on the RCMP’s behalf. While looking for evidence linked to the Grollier investigation, police found “one of the largest seizures of (child pornography) ever made” in Vancouver, according to Const. Anne Drennan, media liaison officer for Vancouver city police.
Hundreds of videotapes, magazines and photos were seized by police, along with Leroux’s diaries. Police also accessed his Internet account to look for related materials, said Drennan.
Leroux was arrested eight days later and charged with possession of child pornography. He appeared in B.C. provincial court April 25.
Meanwhile, Northern RCMP stepped up their role in the case, launching one of the largest investigations in recent memory.
Twenty-five officers in 17 detachments across the NWT have conducted as many as 220 interviews of former residents, and police hope to complete another 150 before Leroux’s July 7 court date. They would provide a list of communities where the interviews took place.
Despite not having completed the investigation, RCMP decided to arrest Leroux now. According to Steggles, “the investigation had gained gravity, and (Leroux) had become more of a flight risk.”
Leroux left Inuvik 18 years ago forVancouver, where he worked for 15 years as an investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
While in Inuvik, Leroux was an active member of the community, serving as a justice of the peace for 12 years, a judge in family juvenile court, president of the Inuvik Soccer Association, treasurer of the NWT Ski Team, a hockey and soccer coach and a Big Brother.
Leroux was charged and convicted in 1979 for sexual assault in Inuvik. He served four months for that charge but was later pardoned and criminal record cleared, Steggles said.
Prior to moving to Inuvik in 1967, Leroux worked for seven years inBeauval,Sask., as supervisor of a youth hostel.
While investigating this case, police also heard allegations that several otherInuvikresidents were involved in sexual offences, though none relating to Leroux’s case. Once the RCMP completes the Leroux investigation, police will then focus on the other suspects, which Steggles said number “more than one.”
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On child-porn rap
The Province (Vancouver)
13 April 1997
VANCOUVER — A former investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission has been charged with possessing child pornography.
Paul Leroux, 57, was arrested in his West End Vancouver apartment and an extensive amount of computer equipment was seized. The alleged pornography was on computer discs and drives.
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Former human rights official faces porn charges
Calgary Herald
12 April 1997
A Vancouver man who recently worked as an investigator for the Canadian Human Rights Commission has been charged with possession of child pornography.
Paul Leroux, 57, was arrested Thursday at his West End apartment after a raid by Vancouver police and the RCMP.
“I was told by one investigator involved in the raid that this was one of the largest seizures of child pornography that they have ever seen,” said Constable Anne Drennan of the Vancouver police department.
Leroux was a supervisor at a residential school for students in Inuvik in the Northwest Territories during the 1970s. Drennan said he served four months in an N.W.T. jail but she did not know why. He left Inuvik 18 years ago and moved to Vancouver.
Drennan said police are still investigating Leroux and more charges are possible. Leroux left the human rights commission two weeks ago when his contract expired, Drennan said.