Allegations of inappropriate behaviour in Canadian Prime Minister's Office being investigated
Firm that investigated Ghomeshi claims now probing allegations of inappropriate behaviour in PMO
By Katie Simpson, CBC News
Claude-Éric Gagné, the deputy director of operations in the PMO, is being investigated by employment law firm Rubin Thomlinson LLP after the PMO became aware of allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him. (CBC)
A high-profile employment law firm has been hired to probe allegations of inappropriate behaviour within the Prime Minister's Office.
Rubin Thomlinson LLP is the independent third party handling the investigation into Claude-Éric Gagné, the deputy director of operations within the PMO.
Janice Rubin, who led the independent investigation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation following the dismissal of radio host Jian Ghomeshi, is a partner at the firm.
However, a spokeswoman for the PMO refused to say if Rubin is directly involved in this investigation.
Trudeau's director of communications, Kate Purchase, said in a statement that an investigation was "immediately triggered with the assistance of an independent investigator and the individual in question went on leave, pending the outcome."
The PMO refused to identify the staffer involved or provide any details of the allegations, but a source previously confirmed to CBC News that they are against Gagné and involve allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
TVA, a French-language television network, first revealed the investigation into Gagné and that he has been on leave since early November.
In a statement in French to Radio-Canada, Gagné said he is on leave because of an independent investigation into "allegations which were brought to the attention of my employer."
Gagné said he takes the situation seriously and has offered his "full and complete collaboration to the investigator," who he said has given him the opportunity to "explain my version of the facts in light of these allegations which I dispute."
Rubin is well known in Toronto's legal community, and garnered headlines for her investigation into workplace culture at the CBC.
She found CBC mishandled managing Ghomeshi, amid reports of abusive behaviour in the workplace.
Liberal MP Darshan Kang accused of sexual harassment
Kang is one of two MPs who broke a decades-long losing streak
for the party in Calgary, Alberta
By Drew Anderson, CBC News
Darshan Kang, seen here on election night in 2015, has been accused of sexual harassment. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
The federal Liberals have confirmed Darshan Kang, one of two Liberal MPs in Calgary, has been accused of sexual harassment.
"We were made aware of the allegations and referred them, as per the House of Commons process, to the chief human resources officer," Charles-Eric Lepine, the chief of staff to Chief Government Whip Pablo Rodriguez, said in an email to CBC News.
The Hill Times in Ottawa first reported the allegations on Friday, tracing the complaint back to an unnamed employee at Kang's constituency office in northeast Calgary.
CBC News has not been able to independently verify that the complaint came from an employee at the constituency office.
The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the situation and a spokesperson for the Liberal party directed all enquiries to the whip's office.
No one was answering the phones at Kang's Calgary Skyview constituency office, nor at his Parliament Hill office where his phone mailbox was full. Calls to Kang's home and cell phone also went unanswered.
Kang, along with Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr, broke a long losing streak for the Liberals in Calgary — prior to the 2015 election, a Liberal hadn't been elected in the southern Alberta city since 1968.
Now Kang is in trouble and so is Kent Hehr who's only qualification seems to be that he is in a wheelchair. In Trudeau's diverse cabinet, appearance trumps ability and seems to be the only qualification. Hehr is being criticized daily for being rude and dismissive to women, and, oddly enough, to disabled people.
If Calgary elects another Liberal in the next several decades, it is going to need a municipal lobotomy.
Before entering federal politics, Kang was a two-term MLA representing Calgary-McCall in the Alberta legislature. He was first elected in 2008.
The Liberal party under Justin Trudeau has taken allegations of sexual harassment seriously in the past, expelling two sitting MPs from the caucus in 2015 after complaints filed by two NDP MPs.
That action followed an independent investigation into the allegations.
Rape trial of student collapses because
Met. Police withheld sex text evidence
A rape trial judge has called for an urgent inquiry after it was revealed police failings led to the collapse of a case. Evidence which could have potentially cleared the name of Liam Allan, 22, was not handed over to Croydon Crown Court, despite Allan being on bail for almost two years.
On Thursday, his trial was ceased after it emerged vital evidence had been withheld.
Officers within the Metropolitan Police had refused to hand over the phone records of Allan’s alleged victim – a woman who says he raped and sexually assaulted her on six occasions – and had told Allan’s lawyers there was nothing of interest in them.
However, when a new prosecution barrister took over the case just one day before the trial began, the phone records were handed over. A staggering 40,000 messages were taken from the handset and showed the woman had asked the undergraduate student for sex on more than one occasion.
She had told police the sex was not consensual and she had not enjoyed it. Yet she texted friends that she enjoyed sex with Allan and even spoke about her fantasies of having violent sex and being raped by him.
Undergraduate Allan was facing 10 years in prison if found guilty. His lawyers always maintained their client’s belief the woman acted maliciously because he was starting university and would not see her again.
The judge at the trial has called for an inquiry at the “very highest level” of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Prosecuting barrister and former Tory MP Jerry Hayes said: “I would like to apologize to Liam Allan. There was a terrible failure in disclosure which was inexcusable. There could have been a very serious miscarriage of justice, which could have led to a very significant period of imprisonment and life on the sex offenders register. It appears the [police] officer in the case has not reviewed the disk, which is quite appalling.”
Allan told the Times outside of court: “I can’t explain the mental torture of the past two years. I feel betrayed by the system which I had believed would do the right thing – the system I want to work in.”
Despite Allan’s innocence being proven, the woman cannot be named because of her right to anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act. The act has been heavily disputed after a number of rape trials fell through where police were accused of “airbrushing” evidence.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are aware of this case being dismissed from court and are carrying out an urgent assessment to establish the circumstances which led to this action being taken. We are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and keeping in close contact with the victim whilst this process takes place."
Yes, but what is your purpose, to make sure it doesn't happen again, or to lessen the impact of the criticism?
Chicago man charged with sexually abusing children while working with Catholic group in Peru
Nereida Moreno and Matthew Walberg Chicago Tribune
SCV Headquarters, Lima Peru
Jeffery Daniels left his native Peru in 2001, moved to the U.S., married and started a family, leaving behind the elite Catholic society he’d spent years with for a life in the quiet north Chicago suburb of Antioch.
Now, in the wake of an explosive report issued earlier this year, Peruvian prosecutors have charged Daniels and three other men in connection with alleged sexual abuse that occurred at the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in Lima.
The four men have been charged with conspiracy to commit sexual, physical and psychological abuse, according to Peruvian court documents provided by attorney Hector Gadea, who represents the alleged victims.
Gadea said prosecutors have asked a judge to order the men’s arrests and detention for nine months while authorities continue their investigation into members of the organization, also known as the SCV.
The charges were confirmed by an aide to Peruvian Congressman Alberto de Belaunde, who added that Daniels and the other men — including Luis Fernando Figari, the SCV’s founder and former leader — allegedly took advantage of their "proximity to minors and young adults" to abuse followers, most of whom were young men or boys.
Daniels has told local U.S. authorities that he denies the allegations. But de Belaunde, who serves on the nation’s Commission of Justice and Human Rights, applauded the charges.
“Jeffery Daniels has serious allegations of abusing minors,” de Belaunde said in a statement, written in Spanish, that he released to the Tribune. “In all this time, Daniels has been silent and has chosen to forget. But the victims do not forget and neither will a country with dignity. In addition to ensuring that justice is served, it is important to ensure that there are no more victims.”
The announcement of the charges follows the publication of a book written by journalists Paola Ugaz and Pedro Salinas that claims decades of abuse occurred within the organization. It also comes on the heels of an independent investigation commissioned by the SCV’s current leaders.
It is unclear what, if any, official title Daniels had within the organization, which is dedicated to training lay people in the Catholic faith. But the independent investigators noted that he led boys ages 12 to 16 in Bible studies and group activities, and took them on mission trips.
In the SCV’s commissioned report, released in February, the independent investigators pegged Daniels as “the most egregious” alleged molester, accusing him of sexually abusing at least a dozen boys and young men in his care between 1985 and 1997.
Last month, de Belaunde sent letters to various U.S. government officials and media outlets, including the Tribune and the Antioch Police Department. The letter said Daniels lives in Antioch and stated its purpose was “to inform you about this situation before the Peruvian prosecutor formally notifies the American authorities of this case.”
Tribune reporters made several attempts to speak with Daniels, but were unsuccessful. He recently denied the claims to Antioch police investigators.
In November, the department interviewed Daniels, 49, as part of a background investigation it opened after receiving de Belaunde’s letter.
“Jeffery confirmed that he was the ‘Jeffery Daniels’ referenced in the Peru allegations, though he denied any wrongdoing what so ever,” Antioch Detective Sgt. Tom Nowotarski wrote in a report of the interview obtained by the Tribune through an open records request. “Jeffery stated that he is uncertain why such allegations were levied against him.”
The SCV report, which outlines alleged sexual abuse by former leaders and members of the society, noted that “(in) the most egregious case of abuse in the SCV, Jeffery Daniels abused at least 12 minor males who were associated with SCV ministries between 1985 and 1997,” according to a copy of the report.
One victim told investigators, according to the report: “When I was 14 years old, Daniels became increasingly friendly with me and gave me affection that I did not get from my family. … His affections became sexual. … I thought I had been selected by the devil to provide sexual services to this man. … Now I have flashbacks.”
According to the report, after allegations of sexual abuse were brought to the organization’s leaders in 1997, they sent Daniels away to live in seclusion for three years, saying he was receiving psychological treatment. After Daniels was released, he left Peru and came to the U.S., the report stated.
Daniels, however, denied that he was sent to live in seclusion over allegations of sexual abuse. Instead, he told Antioch police he spent the three years in isolation in order to determine whether he wanted to continue his life at the SCV.
“(He) stated that after the spiritual sequester, he ultimately decided to leave the order and subsequently moved to the United States of America,” Nowotarski wrote in his police report on his interview with Daniels.
Little is known about his life since he arrived in the U.S.
Peruvian officials said he is a Peruvian citizen, but a source told the Tribune that Daniels obtained his Illinois driver’s license in October 2001 using a U.S. passport.
An announcement in a local newspaper said that he and his wife obtained a marriage license on July 20, 2005. Daniels told Antioch police that he works out of his home for a hotel company, and his wife told investigators she is a retired teacher who still volunteers in their local school district and a local Catholic church.
Neither Antioch police nor the FBI’s Chicago office has received any requests from any Peruvian or U.S. officials regarding Daniels.
It is unclear whether Peruvian authorities have initiated efforts to have Daniels extradited, but a spokesman for the FBI said that there are a number of ways authorities there could try to have him returned.
Antioch police have no reports of crimes or allegations involving Daniels in the U.S., but said that they would cooperate with any efforts by other law enforcement agencies to investigate him.
“We have established contact with Mr. Daniels and we are certainly a pro-active agency ready to take any and all steps necessary to protect the public, and particularly the children of this community,” Robert Long, an attorney for the village of Antioch, said in an email to the Tribune. “If anyone wishes to report anything, we are ready to act as necessary, within the limits of our jurisdictional powers and the laws we enforce.”
In an interview with the Tribune, Urbina said he was 14 when Daniels began abusing him in Lima, Peru.
His mother brought him to the Catholic organization in 1995 because he was getting bullied at school and needed support and mentorship. Instead, Urbina alleges that he was abused for more than two years.
Urbina told the Tribune that Daniels, who was 28 at the time, regularly supervised events with young boys. Urbina met him for the first time for a group outing one Saturday afternoon and thought he was “funny, interesting and arrogant.”
At the end of the day, Daniels drove the group of children home and dropped Urbina off last, he said. But instead of taking him straight to his home, Daniels stopped at a neighborhood park to talk about trust, Urbina said.
There, Urbina said, Daniels abused him. Urbina said he didn’t tell anyone at the time — he was too confused about what was happening to say it out loud. “I was a child. I didn’t know what I was doing or what I wanted,” he said.
Urbina publicly came forward early last year in an interview with the Peruvian outlet El Comercio, and said he is determined to shed light on the abuse and wishes he had come forward sooner.
“These are scars that I’ll carry for years,” he said. “It’s a pain I’m going to carry in my heart forever.”
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