Post by watchdog on Jan 13, 2008 5:58:47 GMT -5
Ex-cop waits to be arrested Posted by Gammy on CCW Jan 12th 08
Duncan man refused to testify at Ontario inquiry into sex ring
Rob Shaw
Times Colonist
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A former Cornwall, Ont., police officer whose investigation to expose an alleged high-ranking pedophile ring saw him ostracized from the force said he expects to be sent to jail this week for refusing to testify in a government inquiry.
Perry Dunlop had already been found in contempt for refusing to answer questions last fall. Inquiry lawyers say Dunlop could be fined or imprisoned if he does not begin testifying at 1 p.m. Monday.
But Dunlop said he has no intention of travelling from his home in Duncan to Cornwall, because he has "no faith" in a judicial process that has taken 15 years and cost him his job, home and life in Cornwall.
"I predict they will come and get me and take me to jail," he said in an interview.
The 43-year-old, who now runs a home-renovation business, admits the prospect of prison time frightens him. The only person more hated in jail than a pedophile is, ironically, a former cop, he said. "The scary part is behind the closed doors anything can happen... in certain cases people are hurt and killed."
He grabs a pen during an interview and places it to his neck. "All it takes is this pen here and I'm not breathing anymore. I've seen it."
Cornwall's child-abuse scandal erupted in 1993, when a former altar boy told Dunlop he'd been abused by a priest. Dunlop, then a decorated constable, said his investigation pointed to a high-level pedophile ring. Facing resistance from his police bosses, Dunlop went to the Children's Aid Society and the media.
For doing so, he faced several charges under the Police Act and fellow officers treated him like a pariah. He had an emotional breakdown. He, his wife, and their three teenage daughters moved to Duncan in 2000.
Years later, an Ontario Provincial Police investigation charged 15 people -- among them a priest, lawyer, crown attorney, probation officer and former justice of the peace -- with sexual crimes against youngsters. But only one person was jailed. Others died or had charges stayed, and defence lawyers painted Dunlop as "arrogant, cocky, manipulative, reckless, [and] fanatical."
The province called a public inquiry in 2006, but by then Dunlop said he'd become disillusioned with the judicial system.
"I've been back for a couple of the trials where they just absolutely pummelled me," he said. "They got me on the stand and hammered me."
"I felt strongly that the truth had no chance of surfacing then," added his wife Helen, a nurse.
"That's when we said to each other never again will be hoodwinked, bushwhacked, into coming here and thinking the justice system is on the right side. They haven't been on the right side of this since Day 1."
Helen did testify before the inquiry last September. But when Dunlop took the stand he only read from his original case file and refused questions.
The Dunlop family, including three teenage daughters, moved to Duncan in 2000. They say they've received a great deal of community support and were glad to escape the controversy in Cornwall. But their daughters, now in their late teens, grew up angry at the way the legal system treated their father, said Helen.
"They are bright and see the unfairness of all of this, and they are wondering what's wrong with the system?" she said. "Why if you did everything right, dad, why are you going to jail? They ask us that, and we don't really have an answer they can wrap their heads around."
Duncan man refused to testify at Ontario inquiry into sex ring
Rob Shaw
Times Colonist
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A former Cornwall, Ont., police officer whose investigation to expose an alleged high-ranking pedophile ring saw him ostracized from the force said he expects to be sent to jail this week for refusing to testify in a government inquiry.
Perry Dunlop had already been found in contempt for refusing to answer questions last fall. Inquiry lawyers say Dunlop could be fined or imprisoned if he does not begin testifying at 1 p.m. Monday.
But Dunlop said he has no intention of travelling from his home in Duncan to Cornwall, because he has "no faith" in a judicial process that has taken 15 years and cost him his job, home and life in Cornwall.
"I predict they will come and get me and take me to jail," he said in an interview.
The 43-year-old, who now runs a home-renovation business, admits the prospect of prison time frightens him. The only person more hated in jail than a pedophile is, ironically, a former cop, he said. "The scary part is behind the closed doors anything can happen... in certain cases people are hurt and killed."
He grabs a pen during an interview and places it to his neck. "All it takes is this pen here and I'm not breathing anymore. I've seen it."
Cornwall's child-abuse scandal erupted in 1993, when a former altar boy told Dunlop he'd been abused by a priest. Dunlop, then a decorated constable, said his investigation pointed to a high-level pedophile ring. Facing resistance from his police bosses, Dunlop went to the Children's Aid Society and the media.
For doing so, he faced several charges under the Police Act and fellow officers treated him like a pariah. He had an emotional breakdown. He, his wife, and their three teenage daughters moved to Duncan in 2000.
Years later, an Ontario Provincial Police investigation charged 15 people -- among them a priest, lawyer, crown attorney, probation officer and former justice of the peace -- with sexual crimes against youngsters. But only one person was jailed. Others died or had charges stayed, and defence lawyers painted Dunlop as "arrogant, cocky, manipulative, reckless, [and] fanatical."
The province called a public inquiry in 2006, but by then Dunlop said he'd become disillusioned with the judicial system.
"I've been back for a couple of the trials where they just absolutely pummelled me," he said. "They got me on the stand and hammered me."
"I felt strongly that the truth had no chance of surfacing then," added his wife Helen, a nurse.
"That's when we said to each other never again will be hoodwinked, bushwhacked, into coming here and thinking the justice system is on the right side. They haven't been on the right side of this since Day 1."
Helen did testify before the inquiry last September. But when Dunlop took the stand he only read from his original case file and refused questions.
The Dunlop family, including three teenage daughters, moved to Duncan in 2000. They say they've received a great deal of community support and were glad to escape the controversy in Cornwall. But their daughters, now in their late teens, grew up angry at the way the legal system treated their father, said Helen.
"They are bright and see the unfairness of all of this, and they are wondering what's wrong with the system?" she said. "Why if you did everything right, dad, why are you going to jail? They ask us that, and we don't really have an answer they can wrap their heads around."