Everyday thousands of children are being sexually abused. You can stop the abuse of at least one child by simply praying. You can possibly stop the abuse of thousands of children by forwarding the link in First Time Visitor? by email, Twitter or Facebook to every Christian you know. Save a child or lots of children!!!! Do Something, please!

3:15 PM prayer in brief:
Pray for God to stop 1 child from being molested today.
Pray for God to stop 1 child molestation happening now.
Pray for God to rescue 1 child from sexual slavery.
Pray for God to save 1 girl from genital circumcision.
Pray for God to stop 1 girl from becoming a child-bride.
If you have the faith pray for 100 children rather than one.
Give Thanks. There is more to this prayer here

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Monday, 7 April 2014

Nova Scotia Refuses to Apologize to Man Wrongfully Convicted of Child Rape

A Nova Scotia, Canada, man wrongly labelled a rapist for 40 years testified today at his civil trial against the RCMP and provincial government that being a convicted sex offender has greatly damaged his life and career prospects.

The Nova Scotia government has a lot of questions to answer in this case. See below.

The case of Gerry Gaston Barton, who is now 63 and living in Morinville, Alberta., opened Monday morning in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in Halifax. Five days have been set aside to look into the miscarriage of justice.

"I just want to get this done and get on with my life. I have not been a happy person for the last 40 years," Barton said. "[It's] something that's just eating away at me for the last 40-something years."

When he was 19, Barton was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl who lived near him in Digby County. He says he never stood trial and always denied guilt, but was convicted and sentenced to a year's probation in 1970. 

In 2008, the girl, now an adult, admitted she had lied. Her brother had sexually assaulted her and was the father of her child, she told RCMP. Barton's conviction was quashed in 2011 when DNA evidence cleared him. 

Gerry Barton
The woman's name is protected under a publication ban.

Barton told the court Monday the girl's father asked for $900 to keep the matter out of court, but Barton did not have that much money. 

He told the court that the day after the father asked for money, RCMP arrived with a summons. His lawyer asked him Monday if he ever touched or sexually assaulted the girl.

"No, I did not," he answered.

His lawyer asked him why he did not fight the conviction. "I never had any money, never had anyone who would listen," Barton responded.

He said he never went to the RCMP detachment and the RCMP never took a statement from him. A typed statement supposedly given by Barton was presented at his preliminary hearing.

He said Monday he did not give the statement, which included words which he would not have used as a 19-year-old.

The girl falsely testified in 1969 that he had come out of the woods, entered her house and sexually assaulted her.

The government has refused to apologize to Barton or discuss compensation. The government says few records remain from his 1970 conviction. Could it be because there were few records to begin with and what there were were fraudulent? Is the NS attorney general not going to take responsibility for the lack of documents? It will be interesting to see what arguments they bring forward this week - "It wasn't a wrongful conviction, even though DNA proved it was not him?"

So, why was the woman not charged in 2008 with perjury and obstruction of justice? And why was her brother not charged with rape and incest? The NS AG has a lot of explaining to do from what I see.

Barton is suing the the attorney general of Nova Scotia and the attorney general of Canada for their handling of his case.

Last year, his lawyer, Dale Dunlop, said this is another example of the flaws in Nova Scotia's justice system.

"I would hope with Donald Marshall (another wrongfully convicted native) and our history of mistreatment of minorities that things would have changed, but I guess they haven't."

Barton added he wished his mother and father were alive to see him exonerated.

"The case speaks for itself. I was wrongly accused and falsely accused of a charge that never happened. I wasn't there. It should have never taken place. Instead they just lied about it and kept it hidden," said Barton.

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