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Eileen Wilke submitted her resignation as a Lions Bay councillor on Thursday
A Lions Bay councillor who is suing her daughter for revealing details of the childhood sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband has resigned her seat on council.
Lions Bay Mayor Karl Buhr confirmed in an interview that village councillor Eileen Wilke handed in her resignation Thursday, adding that “she indicated that the reason she was stepping down was for the good of Lions Bay. But I don’t think Lions Bay has heard the last of this. It’s been very divisive in the community.”
Wilke has filed suit against her estranged daughter, Sherri Thomson, alleging that Thomson broke the terms of a 1996 settlement requiring her not to reveal details of being molested by her stepfather, Ronald Wilke. Thomson had agreed to settle her civil lawsuit against her parents in exchange for $33,000 to help pay for her therapy bills, agreeing not to disclose details of the case to anyone outside of her immediate circle.
Sherri Thomson in North Vancouver, B.C., January 20, 2017. Thomson was sexually abused by her stepfather when she was a kid in Ontario, and her mother protected the husband and allowed him to continue living with the kids after he admitted it. Sherri sued her parents back in the 1990s and they settled for $33K. Now Sherri's mom is a town councillor in Lions Bay and she's suing Sherri for breaking the confidentiality agreement in that settlement by alerting the mayor and media to her mom's past. Arlen Redekop / PNG photo
But when Thomson discovered that her mother was running for council last November, she sent the Lions Bay mayor and several organizations in town copies of legal documents in which Ronald admits to the repeated abuse and Eileen acknowledges allowing him back into the home after learning about his transgressions. Thomson also recently filed a report with police in Ontario, where the abuse occurred.
In her resignation letter, which was released by the Village of Lions Bay Friday, Wilke said: “Since it is before the courts, my side of the story has to wait until the case is heard and decided or I will be breaching a court order with heavy punitive consequences. In the interest of peace and good government for Lions Bay, I am tendering my resignation as a Councillor effective immediately.”
Wilke has also stepped down from her volunteer positions with the Emergency Social Services and Block Watch organizations.
Resident John Pappas, who had started an online petition calling for Wilke’s resignation, said he was disappointed that mayor and council didn’t inform the community about Wilke’s past before she was elected in a Nov. 19 byelection.
Sherri Thomson in North Vancouver, B.C., January 20, 2017. Thomson was sexually abused by her
stepfather when she was a kid in Ontario, and her mother protected the husband and allowed him
to continue living with the kids after he admitted it. Arlen Redekop / PNG photo
Buhr said in statement Thursday that the village is subject to the privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and to the law of defamation.
However, Buhr said that on the day before the Nov. 19 byelection, the village manager “received a call and package of documents as described in the January 24/25 articles in local print and other mediums.
“He immediately contacted Elections B.C. and our lawyers, to be advised that there did not appear to be anything in the materials which would disqualify the candidate under B.C. or Canadian law. With no grounds for cancelling the election or candidacy, the municipality was obligated by law to hold it.”
He said that the Squamish RCMP, which provides policing services to the village, advised that “there was nothing for the municipality to do, and indicated the RCMP would be taking no action unless requested by the Ontario Provincial Police.
“I can say that the village’s lawyers are confident that neither the village, nor its officers, nor its elected officials, did any wrong.”
Referring to the matter as a “half-story” that broke in the press, Buhr said: “The deplorable vitriol spewed out by social media trolls that brought this resignation about … angers and disappoints me. We have lost more than a councillor. A byelection will be held in due course.”
On Friday, Buhr said in a separate statement: “This is a troubling time for as close-knit a community as Lions Bay. Eileen Wilke has done a decent thing, to try to spare more divisiveness. I hope we extend that decency to her too, whatever our views.”
Thomson described the news Thursday as a win, but said she was still processing it.
“I think this is exactly what should happen, but emotionally it doesn’t do much for me,” she said. “Thank you to all the people in Lions Bay who made this happen.”
Thomson added that she hoped the resignation was a sign of remorse from her mother.
She's suing you, Sherri, I don't think there is much remorse there. Nor does there appear to be any desire for a relationship or she would never have allowed your abuser back into her life. I see it so often on this blog where a boyfriend or step-father sexually assaults their step-daughter. Too many single moms are just not careful enough in whom they allow into their homes and consequently, alone with their daughter.
Forgiveness is a necessary element in complete recovery from CSA. But, while a mother can forgive the man who molested her daughter, it's a whole different thing to let him back into your life and your home especially while your children are still young and vulnerable. That's a risk that is inexplicable!
Lions Bay, British Columbia
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