Cornwall pedophile case 'not fully closed': minister

Guzzo doesn't name 'kingpins' of alleged child-abuse 'clan'

April Lindgren
The Ottawa Citizen

30 May 2001

TORONTO -- More charges are possible in the alleged "pedophile clan" scandal that has rocked Cornwall, provincial Solicitor General David Turnbull told the legislature yesterday.

The provincial government has not "fully closed" the book on the investigations, Mr. Turnbull said. "There is still the possibility of other charges being laid, and that is all I will say," Mr. Turnbull said in the legislature, repeating the statement later to reporters.

Mr. Turnbull was responding to questions from Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Garry Guzzo, who has vowed to "name names" of "kingpins" of the alleged pedophile ring this week in the legislature.

An unsual hush fell over the chamber yesterday as Mr. Guzzo rose from his seat on the Tory back benches. He did not name the "kingpins," but instead grilled his own government on repeated police failures to crack the pedophile ring in the early 1990s.

Mr. Guzzo asked Mr. Turnbull to explain how three separate police probes -- in 1992, 1993 and 1994 -- failed to expose the pedophile ring in the Eastern Ontario community. Subsequent efforts by the city's citizens, he pointed out, led to a 1997 Ontario Provincial Police investigation where "miraculously 115 charges were laid" against 15 individuals.

And in a surprising move, Mr. Guzzo also said he has evidence that provincial police may have shielded pedophiles elsewhere in the province from charges.

"Since the debate on the initial bill in October of last year, I've opened nine files with regard to allegations against different police forces, primarily the OPP," he said.

"Of the nine, two of them are very, very troubling. Very, very troubling."

Mr. Guzzo's unprecedented move has attracted national attention, and he is expected to continue his onslaught today by naming the alleged ring's "kingpins" and asking Attorney General David Young why, despite extensive police investigations, they have never been charged.

His decision to name the individuals in the legislature, where he is protected from libel suits by the tradition of parliamentary privilege, is controversial in that it may result in innocent people being maligned.

Premier Mike Harris said yesterday that Mr. Guzzo's decision to name names in the legislature "is not what I would do, and it is not something I condone.

"There are still ongoing matters before the police and before the Crown attorneys and I don't think anything that jeopardizes that is very helpful," Mr. Harris told reporters, noting that it is possible further charges will be laid.

But Mr. Harris said the Ontario government is committed to examining why previous investigations did not crack the pedophile ring.

"I don't know whether down the road a public inquiry will be required, whether that's appropriate or whether some other vehicle (will be necessary)," he said. "But I think we have not closed the door on anything."

Mr. Turnbull and Mr. Young have responded to Mr. Guzzo's threats cautiously, insisting they do not want to comment on any police investigation for fear it will jeopardize the results.

Mr. Young said he is not going "to do anything that will interfere with individuals' right to get a fair trial. By the same token," he added, "I don't want to see guilty people go free."

Mr. Guzzo, a former family court judge, is unapologetic about his tactics.

Noting that he would cease and desist if the government calls an inquiry into what he says is a police coverup, Mr. Guzzo said he is willing to risk naming names because he believes justice is not being done.

"All I want to do is put the evidence that is on the table before the attorney general ... compare that evidence to evidence in the court cases with people who have been charged, and get him to explain why, when it appears that there is a stronger case against certain people, that they have not been proceeded against."

Mr. Guzzo rejected suggestions he might be destroying the lives of innocent people by targeting them. "You talk about destroying lives," he said. "Why don't you go down to Cornwall and talk to some of the victims and you will see an example of lives having been destroyed.

"There wouldn't have been any court cases to start with if the citizens hadn't done the job that they did. They (the police) had wound it up, they said there was no one to charge three times. How many times do you want to have it swept under the rug before somebody gives the rug a good yank?"

To date, there have been no convictions as a result of Project Truth, the investigation launched in 1997.

Some charges have been thrown out of court.

Seven people face charges in Cornwall, including clergy.

Of the eight others charged, four have died, charges were dropped against one, another was found unfit for trial, another was acquitted and a stay of proceedings was issued on the charges against the eighth.