Pedophiles and Perverts List for Canada Involves some Community Leaders

Ex BC Councillor's husband investigated for CSA - Toronto
FLDS leader and wife convicted in child bride case - Bountiful, B.C.
Manitoba businessman charged with historical CSA - Souris
'Order of Canada' gay rights pastor acquitted of CSA - Nova Scotia
Parents trafficked own child to pedophiles - Toronto

Ontario police probe sexual abuse allegations against former B.C. councillor's husband

Peel Regional Police say they will 'speak to witnesses and gather evidence'

By Kamil Karamali, CBC News

A criminal investigation is now underway into the alleged sexual abuse of a former Village of Lions Bay councillor's daughter.

Eileen Wilke resigned from her role as councillor of the small town south of Squamish this week — after it came to light that she was suing her daughter for speaking publicly about the alleged sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather.

"The investigators will speak to the complainants, speak to witnesses, gather as much evidence as they can, in order for them to make a determination to what the actual complaint is to see if there's grounds to move forward or not," said Sgt. Josh Colley of Peel Regional Police.

Sgt. Colley said a criminal investigation was opened Dec. 19 after a report was made to police. Police would not say who made the report.

"Once everything is reviewed and analysed as a whole, that will determine whether there are grounds to lay charges," Colley said in an interview.

Daughter can't find peace

A civil claim states that Wilke's daughter, Sherri Ann Thomson, took her mother and stepfather to civil court in 1994, alleging she "suffered years of sexual, physical and psychological abuse." 

The two parties reached a settlement two years later, the claim states, when Thomson agreed not to discuss the allegations with anyone except for a few people, namely family members and close friends who were also not friends of the Wilkes. 

Thomson said the news that her mother has now given in to public pressure and stepped down from her role as councillor doesn't give her much peace.

"It didn't sound like remorse," she said. "It didn't do anything for my soul, she did it for process."

Bountiful, B.C.'s Brandon and Gail Blackmore convicted

 in child bride case

A former couple from Bountiful, B.C., found guilty of taking girl, 13, into U.S. for marriage to church leader

By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press 

Brandon Blackmore arrives at the courthouse in Cranbrook, B.C., Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

A former couple from the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., has been found guilty of taking a 13-year-old girl into the United States to marry the now imprisoned leader of the sect that practises plural marriage.

Justice Paul Pearlman of the B.C. Supreme Court found former husband and wife Brandon Blackmore and Gail Blackmore guilty of the charge of taking a girl across the border for a sexual purpose in 2004. 

He found James Oler not guilty of the same charge, saying he couldn't prove that the man crossed the border in 2004 with a 15-year-old girl who was later married to a member of the polygamous church.

Gail Blackmore leaves the courthouse in Cranbrook, B.C., Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

The Blackmores will be sentenced, April 13.

The court in Cranbrook, B.C., heard during their trial late last year about the polygamous beliefs and practices in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

The three, who are or have been members of the church, are connected to the community of Bountiful in southeastern British Columbia, where the trial heard plural marriage was practised.

Girl married to 60-year-old: records

The charges against the Blackmores centred on records that show the 13-year-old girl was married to Warren Jeffs, the 60-year-old church prophet, now serving a life sentence in Texas.

Oler was accused of bringing the 15-year-old girl across the border to marry James Leroy Johnson, who was 24 at the time of the marriage.

Much of the evidence heard in the judge-only trial came about as a result of a U.S. investigation into Jeffs.

Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two underage followers he took as brides in what his church deemed "spiritual marriages." (Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)

Special prosecutor Peter Wilson drew on records found locked away in a Texas ranch during the trial in an effort to prove the girls' marriages took place within days of the accused receiving instructions from Jeffs.

Wilson also focused much of his case on how sex and marriage were viewed in the church. The court heard from former members who said women were expected to obey their fathers and husbands, have as many children as possible and never turn away their husbands' sexual advances.

Brandon Blackmore's lawyer John Gustafson told the judge in his closing submissions that the prosecution failed to prove his client transported the girl across the border or that he knew beforehand that sexual contact with an older man would result.

Gail Blackmore and Oler did not have a lawyer during the trial, so an impartial adviser was appointed to assist the court and provide balance. They did not give opening or closing arguments for themselves.

Souris man charged with 3 counts of gross indecency

dating back decades

Sheldon Kennedy, from nearby Elkhorn, says he understands why coming forward in small town is difficult

CBC News 

A Souris, Man. man was to make his first court appearance in Brandon today after being charged with three counts of gross indecency that date back to alleged offences in the 1980s. (Riley Laychuk/CBC)

A prominent member of the business community in Souris, Man. has been charged with three counts of gross indecency.

The charge of gross indecency doesn't exist any more, but the alleged incidents go back to the 1980s, when the charge was still on the books. 

The Ontario Court of Appeal in 1974 described gross indecency as "the marked departure from the decent conduct expected of the average Canadian in the circumstances."

Two of the charges the Souris man faces are related to incidents alleged to have occurred between August 1981 and August 1984. The other is alleged to have happened in 1986 or 1987.

"It's very shocking. I'm shocked by these allegations because it's just come out of the blue," said Darryl Jackson, the mayor of Souris. "There was never a hint of this coming to me before."

Jackson has lived in the community of around 1,800 people for 36 years. He said he believes most people in the community weren't aware of the alleged abuse or the charges.

He said the accused was a friend of his.

'Make visible the invisible': Sheldon Kennedy

It doesn't surprise Sheldon Kennedy that Souris residents didn't hear about the allegations until the charges were made public. 

"It's very common," said the advocate for victims of child sexual abuse. "A lot of times these investigations are happening and not everybody knows about them. We need to make visible the invisible."

The former NHL star is from the nearby town of Elkhorn, so he understands why it may have been difficult to come forward in the small town in the 1980s. 

"And I think that in those towns a lot of times if you're a kid and this is happening, a lot of times it's a person in power. The kids are feeling, 'Well who's going to believe me?' And who knows how many cases before this case where kids did try to tell their story and they got squashed," he said. 

But Kennedy said he couldn't heal from sexual abuse suffered at the hands of his hockey coach, Graham James, until he came forward. 

"I think the difficulty for [the victims of sex abuse] is trying to live for so long without feeling safe enough to come forward," he said.

"Because a lot of times, and I know in my case I couldn't take the way I felt anymore. Having my daughter coming into our life was a huge contributor to me telling my story. Because I know that I'll never be the dad or the person I want to be unless I actually deal with this stuff."

Toronto pastor Brent Hawkes found not guilty

of sex crimes in Nova Scotia

Judge acquits on charges of gross indecency and indecent assault

CBC News 

Brent Hawkes was found not guilty on Tuesday of indecent assault and gross indecency in a case the dealt with allegations dating to the 1970s. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

A Nova Scotia judge has found prominent Toronto pastor Brent Hawkes not guilty of sex crimes dating back to the 1970s. 

Hawkes, a high-profile LGBT and human rights activist who officiated at former NDP leader Jack Layton's state funeral in 2011, pleaded not guilty to charges of gross indecency and indecent assault.

As Judge Alan Tufts acquitted 66-year-old Hawkes Tuesday in Kentville provincial court, there were gasps in the packed courtroom and brief applause.

Tufts said the complainant in the case gave "vivid testimony" during the trial, but it was contradicted by other evidence. He said the testimony was not reliable enough to support a conviction.

The judge also said he didn't believe all of Hawkes's testimony, but the onus was on the Crown to prove its case.

'Glad that this is over'

Outside court, Hawkes made a brief statement thanking his family, friends, lawyers and the judge. 

"I am so glad that this is over so I can return home and serve my church and my community as best that I can," he said.

He did not take questions from the media. His lawyer, Clayton Ruby, said it was a "good hearing with a good judge." Hawkes, he said, can now "continue the selfless work that has shaped his contribution to society for over 40 years." 

The allegations against Hawkes date back to 1976, when he was a teacher in his 20s in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.

His trial heard emotional testimony from a middle-aged man who said Hawkes led him down a hallway naked during a drunken get-together at his trailer and forced oral sex on him in a bedroom when he was about 16 years old.

Hawkes denied the allegations during testimony in November.

Complainant had 'healthy attitude'

Prosecutor Bob Morrison said the Crown intends to review the judge's 53-page decision in detail before deciding whether to appeal.

The police investigation was thorough, he said, and the complainant had a "very healthy attitude."

"He is aware that these historical sexual assault cases are difficult and so he was prepared for any outcome," Morrison said.

"His attitude, and I thought it was a really healthy one, was: 'I'm going to come forward, I'm going to say what happened to me, I'm going to tell the truth and leave the rest up to the judge.'"

Church pleased with ruling

Originally from Bath, N.B., Hawkes has been a senior pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto for years.

In a statement, the church said it was pleased with Tuesday's court decision.

"Our support for Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes as a man of the highest integrity has never wavered, based on our 40 wonderful years of experience with him as our senior pastor," said Anne Brayley, the church's vice-moderator and board chair.

Considered one of the spiritual leaders of Toronto's gay community, he is also known as a vocal proponent of same-sex marriage and in 2007 was appointed to the Order of Canada.

'Probability' there was sexual activity

In his decision, Tufts said a "great deal" of Hawkes's testimony at trial was contradicted by other witnesses and he did not believe the accused.

But while there was a "likelihood or even a probability" that some sexual activity happened in the bedroom, the judge said he was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.

He said the complainant was intoxicated that night, and his testimony did not add up in key places with that of two witnesses and other evidence.

"We simply do not know how much is his true memory of what he actually recalled as opposed to what he may have recreated or reconstructed," Tufts said.

"I say this with the greatest respect to [the complainant] because I do not want to diminish the real pain I witnessed when he testified."

Gee. I wonder where that real pain came from? Probably just 'made it up', I guess.

He noted that when the man was interviewed by police, he simply read what he had prepared for his therapy sessions. Tufts said his therapy sessions were understandably centred around how he felt, rather than the accuracy of his account.

Parents trafficked their own child to pedophiles

BY CHRIS DOUCETTE, TORONTO SUN

Jacquelyn Laronde (centre), who was at one time known as Sean O’Toole (left), and Martin Galloway are accused of sexually abusing a child more than a decade ago in London, Ont. 

Two men, one of whom now lives as a woman, are accused of sexually abusing a child more than a decade ago in London, Ont.

And Toronto Police allege the encounters were arranged through the young victim’s parents.

“This is part of a Toronto Police-led investigation that began just over a year ago and is still ongoing,” spokesman Meaghan Gray said Thursday, adding six other suspects have previously been charged.

She said the latest charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred 12 to 14 years ago.

Two men allegedly made arrangements to sexually abuse a child, Gray explained, not revealing the victim’s gender and only saying the child was under 16 at the time.

“These arrangements were (allegedly) made online with the child’s parents,” she said. “The two men attended an address in London, Ont., for this purpose.”

Officers from Toronto’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit, with help from London Police, executed a search warrant on Jan. 25.

Martin Galloway, 56, was arrested and charged with one count each of sexual assault and sexual interference.

The London resident was allegedly known as “Scotdom” and “Mr. Scotdom” and used the email address of Scotdom@hotmail.com.

Toronto cops, with help from Kingston police, made another arrest Wednesday.

Jacquelyn Laronde, 46, of Kingston, is charged with one count each of sexual assault and sexual interference.

“Online, Jacquelyn Laronde was known by lfesavr@hotmail.com,” Gray said. “At the time of the alleged assault, she was known as Sean O’Toole.”

She said four of the six suspects previously arrested face similar charges.

The other two accused are the child’s parents, whose charges were not released.

In order to protect the victim’s identity, Gray said the parents’ names have also not been released.

Investigators believe there may be other suspects who have yet to be identified, she said.