SINCE I first wrote
about the mind-bog-
gling sweetheart deal
former Burnaby school
- principal William
Bennest received in his
: kiddie porn /pedophilia
. case, I have spoken to a
- great many people who
are as outraged as I am
in observing how these
people are being seem-
"ingly protected by the
very system that is sup-

7 posed to protect their

victims.
T have also spoken to
many police officers frustrated

at watching their best efforts .
squandered by the justice sys-

“tem once the case leaves their

- hands.

“Nothing, however, pre-

“pared me for the experience

. of speaking to a Port
Coquitlam family whose life

“was torn apart after encoun-
tering a pediatrician they went
to for help with their five-

; year-old laughter.

» “In 1992, they were having
some problems with their
daughter who was experienc-

- ing hyper-activity difficulties

_ that were affecting her ability

:; to.learn in school.
After being referred by
cir family doctor to a spe-
ialist, they felt they would
get the hel p their. daughter
needed to be abie to progress

-with her peers in kinder-
“garten.. . :

“After the first year of visits
to the specialist, they had -

ma few days early to go
K to. work. Dad and the

ceived a ore call from the
‘child’s doctor who said he
‘had to Speak with her about
child. Because her job. -
t-of-town travel,
isaid she couldn’t come
péak'to him: The doc-
‘Or, making i it sound urgent,
-said he would stop by on his
way home from the office
: that night...
Once he arrived, it became
apparent he had ulterior
otives. He began making
oves on: Mum, who fought
“him off and ran frova the
house and to safety from the
Iecherotis doctor.
Dad immediately returned
with the fanlly § from Ontario

north shore news

VIEWPOINT
System failing young victims

crime and
punishment

and the police got involved.
Dad, an RCMP officer, even
went so far as to see the doc-
tor and get an admission of
guilt from him in an interview
while he wore a hidden tape
recorder. The RCMP con-
ducted an investigation of the
complaint and recommended
criminal charges of sexual
assault against the doctor.
The parents then_sat down
with their daughter and
explained to her they would-
n’t be going back to see that
doctor and they would find
her another doctor to help
her. The daughter responded
that she was quite happy with
this turn of events.
Subsequent conversation Jed *
the parents to question the
little girl further. They were
shocked with the answers they

got.
The little girl described a
series of sexual assaults in
graphic detail, albeit with the
if idlike innocence one
would expect. Again the
police were brought in. The
child went to see a specially
trained therapist and was
interviewed for the purposcs
of obtaining a “disclosure”
admissible in court.

During this and subse-
quent interviews, the child
awas asked to draw, with
crayons, scenes depicting the
incidents with the doctor. I
won't go into the specific
descriptions in this column
for fear of distressing the
reader. Suffice to say the
depictions were graphic, deci-

pherable and showed activity
that should be far beyond the
knowledge of a little girl. In
other words, the “disclosure”
was excellent from an eviden-
tiary point of view.

The psychologist conclud-
ed the girl had definitely been
abused. This finding was later
confirmed by a second psy-
chologist, a court-recognized
expert from UBC.

Initialiy, charges were
approved by local Crown in
Coquitlam. Days later,
Regional Crown, Austin
Cullen, reversed the decision
to prosecute. The family went

oo “Another 0 one wo our designs,
For Free Estimate call 987-2966
(Ask about our Seniors Discount)
. Labour 53; 50 per panei unlined, .
$11 50 lined.” ~~

Low ‘Low Pri ‘Pricss.

batlistic. The media got
involved, as did a lawyer, Paul
Jaffe, for the family.

As a result, the attorney
general’s ministry appointed a
special “ad hoc” prosecutor
to review the matter. In a
strange twist of irony, Peter
Leask, who later was to be
defence counsel to William
Bennest, got the appoint-
ment.

The doctor retained
Vancouver lawyer David
Crossin to represent him.
While this was going on,
Leask, the AG and the Law
Society were the subject of a
lawsuit filed by another cous:
sel in an unrelated mazier.
Crossin was council for the
Law Society in that lawsuit.

Despite this apparent con-
flict, or at least, lack of inde-
pendence, since both Leask
and Crossin were on the same

maibox

side in one matter and adver-
saries in another, the attorney
general of the day, Colin
Gablemann, and his assistant,
Ernie Quanrz, allowed Leask
to continue in the matter of
the doctor.

What, there were no other
lawyers out ef the 7,000
members of the B.C. Bar who
were available?

In the interim, the doctor
applied for and received an

“ex parte” (given with only
one side present) order, pro-
hibiting the publication of his
name and silencing the victim
family Te cook over a year to
get that order lifted beture
Dr. John Gossage could 5
named. Once named, other
complainants came out of the
woodwork until there were
over 40 separate compiaiats.

But by the end of the
investigation by Leask, no

Wednesday, January 14, 1998 — North Shore News -

charges were laid.

Gossage was convicted by
the College in March *94 of
“unprofessional conduct”
relating to his assault on
Mu. His licence was sus-
pended for six months and he
was fined over $32,000.
That’s it. Yet, the college
knew of complaints since at
least 1986 atter being advised
in writing by an RCMP offi-
cer in Williams Lake. Gossage
is now practising in
Kamloops.

Leask later orchestrated
the sweetheart deal for
Bennest. Mum and Dad have
separated following the
anguish they were put
through in this case.

The litle girl is now 11.
Cute as hell, even with braces
on her teeth. But, she’s been
in therapy ever since.

Seems fair, doesn’t it?

Bring back vehicle testing

Dear Editor:

I would like to add my
comments to those of
Timothy Renshaw in his Dec.
21 column.

First, I think it’s time our
politicians got off their collec-
tive backsides and took imme-
diate action to remedy the
problem of runaway trucks —
not next week or next year,

but now.

For starters, ] propose that
they reinstate motor vehicle
testing stations.

We have a facility in North
Vancouver that is cuphemisti-
cally referred to as an “air test-
ing station” which contributes
absolutely nothing to the safe
operation of motor vehicles.
Why not convert it to some-

thing useful? Or is this sugges-
tion too complex for politi-
cians to understand?

And let's not hear that it’s
a question of money, because
we all know thar Mr. Clark
can produce unlimited sums
of money at the flick of a
wrist.
Bruce L. Box
North Vancouver

Angered over police actions

Dear Editor:

Fam a little more than
concerned at the lack of pub-
lic outery or media attention
(other than The National on
CBC) given to the very obvi-
ous political use of police
powers at che = recent
RCMP/student confronta-
tion on the UBC campus at

"S$

senices

the APEC leaders conference.

It is said that Canadians
would not tolerate the use of
police to further a political
agenda yet at UBC the pro-
testers’ political dissent was
forcibly silenced and citizens’
tights to free speech were sus-
pended.

What has happened to the

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Canadian concept of police
being accountable to the citi-
zenry and subject to the rule
of law?

Bernard Moore

West Vancouver

KIDS FOLLOW THE
WATER SAFETY RULES

DO YOU?
Oh The Canadian Red Cross Society

Hearing Tests Set
For North Shore
Senior Citizens
N. VANCOUVER-
Electronic hearing tests
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to Spm.

Professionally trained
Hearing Instrument
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f Anyone over 55 who has

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the loss is one that can be
heiped. Some of the causes
of hearing loss will be

§ explained, and diagrams of fj

how the ear works will be
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Everyone over 55 should
have a hearing test at least
once a year-even people

f now weariag a hearing aid

or those who have been
told nothing could be
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hearing test can determine
if you are one of the many
a hearing aid can help.
The free hearing tests will
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at #217-1940 Lonsdale

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