September 30, 2009, By THE CANADIAN PRESS
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. - The reward for a missing Quebec girl who vanished under suspicious circumstances is being extended until the end of the year.
Prominent Quebec lawyer Guy Bertrand says he'll continue fielding calls from anyone with information on Cedrika Provencher until Dec. 31. A $170,000 reward being administered by Bertrand will also remain in effect. Bertrand announced in June that he would work independently of police to search for her.
He repeated that anyone who provides him with information will not be handed over to authorities.
Bertrand's mandate was to have expired on Wednesday evening.
Provencher disappeared more than two years ago in Trois-Rivieres, a city midway between Montreal and Quebec City, on July 31, 2007.
There has been no credible information on her whereabouts since.
Bertrand says in a news release that he needs more time to analyze the information that has been recently presented to him.
Deadline for reward for missing Quebec girl extended until end of 2009
Bastien, 33, a repeat sexual offender, has been the subject of a dangerous offender hearing that has been sitting periodically since February 2008.
'Rape hound' called public threat by Chris Thompson The Windsor Star on Saturday, September 26, 2009
A self-described "rape hound" must be put away indefinitely to protect the public, a dangerous offender hearing heard in final arguments Friday.
"One cannot command the public safety being protected without some sort of supervision of Mr. (Jeffrey) Bastien for the rest of his life," said assistant Crown attorney Gary Nikota.
Bastien, 33, a repeat sexual offender, has been the subject of a dangerous offender hearing that has been sitting periodically since February 2008.
The conviction that led to the dangerous offender application occurred in May 2006, when Bastien was found guilty of breaking into a teenage girl's home, sexually assaulting her, striking her and threatening her.
In the midst of the attack the Grade 11 student had the presence of mind to dial 911, while Bastien's attention was elsewhere. Police responded to the call and arrested Bastien within minutes.
Nikota told Superior Court Justice Terry Patterson that Bastien has a history of sexual deviance, impulsivity, substance abuse and a predilection for violence.
"He has an utter lack of empathy, an utter lack of understanding of the enormity of his conduct," said Nikota.
"He has no understanding that he could permanently scar these women's lives."
Nikota recapped the series of sexual crimes that recur in his criminal record, many of them committed shortly after being released from prison.
"This is an individual who shows violent antisocial disposition. It is part and parcel of his soul, it would seem."
Bastien's lawyer Brian Dube said his client should not be declared a dangerous offender and should instead be sentenced to six years for the sexual assault.
"The number one thing, I think, is whether Mr. Bastien's underlying disorders are treatable or not treatable," said Dube.
He recalled a brief time when Bastien was being held at the Ontario Regional Treatment Centre in Kingston when his behaviour was kept under control.
Dube recounted how Bastien was struck by a car at the age of five and suffered serious head trauma.
He referred to a number of other cases where people were declared dangerous offenders who were extremely clever, cunning, manipulative and evil.
Dube said Bastien doesn't fall into that category because of his diminished mental capacity. "It's really a punishment of last resort."
Man pleads guilty to having child pornography on computer at US border
September 25, 2009, EDT. By Lisa Rathke, ASSOCIATED PRESS
BURLINGTON, Vt. - A Canadian man pleaded guilty Friday to charges he had child pornography on his laptop computer when he entered the United States from Quebec nearly three years ago.
Computer privacy experts had been watching the case for its broad policy implications.
Sebastien Boucher, 32 of Ascutney, also agreed to help federal agents access his computer so it could be searched, presumably giving up his password.
Boucher, a Canadian with U.S. residency, was arrested Dec. 17, 2006 as he and his father tried to cross the U.S.-Canadian border in Derby Line. At the border, he told agents he downloads pornography from news groups and sometimes unknowingly acquires child pornography but deletes the images if he realizes it, according to an affidavit filed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Boucher helped an agent access the computer, which showed files such as, "Two year old being raped during diaper change," according to the affidavit. But when an investigator tried to access the computer after it was seized, he could not get into a certain drive because of encryption software.
A grand jury subpoena sought to get Boucher to give up his password, but that was blocked by a federal magistrate. U.S. District Court Judge Williams Sessions overruled that decision.
The insistence that these searches are legal represents a new level of privacy invasion, said Allen Gilbert, director of the Vermont office of the American Civil Liberties Union.
"The facts of the Boucher case allegedly centre on pornography, but the larger issue is government's authority to search digital devices. Do we really want government looking at what's on our laptops, iPhones, and Blackberries?" he said.
The Department of Homeland Security says searches of electronic media at borders are vital to detecting information about terrorist plans or criminal activity such as possession of child pornography or trademark or copyright infringement.
Federal agents have searched 1,000 laptops, 46 thoroughly, at U.S. ports of entry between Oct. 1, 2008 and Aug. 11, 2009, DHS said.
But laptops also contain personal and confidential information, whether its lawyer-client privileged, a doctor's notes about patients, a journalist's sources, or personal emails, said Lee Tien, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based group focused on civil liberties in the digital world.
"I don't think you have any obligation to give up your privacy at the border further than what the sort of normal rules are," he said.
Boucher, who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography that had been transported in interstate or foreign commerce, faces up to 10 years in prison when he's sentenced Jan. 4. He also could be deported.
Cop's mistake nearly 25 years ago won't deter Calgary police probe into unsolved cases..
By NADIA MOHARIB
CALGARY -- For now, a convicted U.S. sex offender finally brought to Canada to face trial in a 30-year-old child-rape case will not go to court.
And Calgary police, who have said they are investigating the same man, Wilbur James Ventling, as a possible suspect in several unsolved child sex attacks in the 1970s, confirmed any DNA evidence which might have been collected no longer exists.
Major Crimes Insp. Guy Slater confirmed a police officer "mistakenly ordered it destroyed" in 1985.
"As for a decision made a quarter-century ago, I can't speak to that," he said.
But he stressed, "systems and processes have changed significantly and that would not occur now."
Ventling, 63, was charged in the 1979 rape of a nine-year-old Vernon, B.C. girl.
A jury was set to see the case go to trial this week but Ventling won a last-minute charter argument which saw Supreme Court Justice Lance Bernard stay all charges -- of rape and causing bodily harm with intent to wound -- given the delay of Ventling's extradition to Canada.
Deportation proceedings are apparently underway but Canada Border Services officials would not comment yesterday or Friday.
Calgary police have never specified how many unsolved cases in Calgary are possibly linked to Ventling nor how close they are to laying charges.
Slater said it is unfortunate DNA evidence, a definite advantage in identifying suspects, was destroyed but detectives have not given up on solving the cases, working with the evidence that does exist, from crime scene photos to witness and victims' statements.
"Obviously, from an investigative standpoint the absence of DNA places us at a considerable disadvantage," Slater said. "It doesn't mean we won't explore other investigative avenues because of it."
Ventling was arrested in 2007 at his Nevada home and extradited to Canada, charged in the B.C. case.
He escaped from a Calgary hospital in 1979, after being picked up as a suspect in 10 offences against girls between ages 5 and 13 in the Calgary area -- four months after the B.C. rape.
Ventling, who is on a U.S. sex-offender registry and used a variety of aliases over the years, has a criminal record which includes crimes against children dating back to 1971 in California and the 1979 attempted sex assault of a young girl in Las Vegas.
Victim decries Charter ruling...
By NADIA MOHARIB
The screeching halt in a long road to justice for a woman raped as a child is "appalling," says an advocate for sex assault survivors.
And, Holly Desimone fears this week's ruling seeing charges against Wilbur Ventling in a 30-year-old child-rape case stayed -- because his Charter rights were violated by a lengthy extradition process -- sets a scary precedent for any victim hoping for justice despite the passage of time and/or a suspect fleeing the country.
"It's heartwrenching," said Desimone, who waited six years for her rapist, Ali Rasai, to be found, brought back to Canada and convicted for attacks on three women.
"I understand the importance of Charter rights, but how are his more important than theirs? Victims deserve their day in court."
The "disturbing" development in the "reprehensible" sex attack case highlights a justice system "loop-hole which protects violent offenders instead of shielding crime victims," Calgary Police Association president John Dooks said.
"If it is a mandatory legislative legal ruling, then it has to be corrected by parliamentarians who need to recognize this situation as a travesty ... and fix our criminal justice system."
Ventling's lawyer, Ray Dieno, stressed the legal victory is not an escape of prosecution on a technicality, but about RCMP and the Crown not acting on repeated opportunities to pursue justice. "If there was a huge societal interest in prosecution in the case, why wasn't it done in a timely manner?" Dieno said yesterday from Victoria.
Instead, he said Justice Lance Bernard agreed with him that the delay was prejudicial -- Ventling's arrest made long after his release from a U.S. prison and after at least twice inquiring if Canadian officials still had plans to extradite him.
"The file was passed to several officers over the years who claimed they were too busy and resources too stretched to complete the investigation," Dieno said.
"He was arrested nearly 10 years after being released from prison, living as a productive citizen and after being told several times Canada did not want him."
Dooks said the bottom line should be justice for victims.
"The argument that the process was unfair to the accused is one that should have been used as mitigating circumstances in sentencing, not in avoiding prosecution all together."
Charges stayed in three decade old child rape case
By NADIA MOHARIB, Sun Media...Last Updated: 18th September 2009
CALGARY — The convicted sex offender Mounties tracked down in the U.S. to bring to court 30 years after a B.C. child was raped saw criminal charges against him stayed by a Supreme Court Justice today.
The ruling was made after court heard Wilbur James Ventling’s Charter Rights were violated by a protracted extradition process to bring him before the Canadian justice system.
Ventling, 63, was set to stand trial this week before a jury for the rape of a nine-year-old Vernon girl in the late 1970s.
“The defence raised Charter issues from a delay of process application and earlier today, the presiding judge in the case has stayed charges against Mr. Ventling,” Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk said today.
“The RCMP is very disappointed with the outcome of this case as it has taken many years and many hours of investigation to get to this point.”
The American, a registered sex offender who has a prior sex assault conviction in the U.S., was arrested October 2007 at his Nevada home, where he was living with his wife.
He was charged with one count of rape and one of causing bodily harm with intent to wound stemming from a 1979 attack on the pre-teen in Vernon who was lured by a man saying he needed help to find his cat before she was raped.
At the time, he was said to be a possible suspect in early several Calgary-area sex attacks dating back to the ‘70s.
Earlier court documents outline how a bloody fingerprint on a fast-food napkin found at the Vernon crime scene helped cops finally break the case.
DNA evidence analysed years later matched a sample taken six months after the Vernon attack from a man arrested near Taber regarding a Calgary investigation — providing a compelling argument to extradite Ventling to Canada to face charges in that attack in December 2007.
Neil MacKenzie, communications counsel with the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch, said it is premature to say if an appeal will be made but he was willing to summarize arguments made by Crown prosecutor, Dave Ruse, before Justice Lance Bernard.
“The defence applied for a judicial stay of proceedings on the basis of excessive delay of the matter coming to trial and the court found there had been a delay of over 10 years from the time of Mr. Ventling’s release in the States (after an earlier conviction), and his extradition to Canada and trial proceeding here,” he said.
“The court found he should have been brought to trial without such a lengthy delay and found it brought prejudice to the accused.”
The Crown has 30 days to appeal the ruling.
“All I can say is the Crown certainly argued the matter should proceed but we do respect the decision of the court,” MacKenzie said
Former victim speaking out at human trafficking workshop in Calgary
Human trafficking a multi-billion-dollar global industry, By NADIA MOHARIB, Sun Media Last Updated: 18th September 2009.
CALGARY — When Timea Nagy landed the job in Canada — a human trafficking lure disguised as legitimate employment — instead of paying her own way, the Hungarian spent months making money for her captors and years paying for that innocent move.
As a 20-year-old, she came to Toronto to find herself trapped by threats, brainwashing and working seven days a week in the sex trade.
And her captors didn’t have to use force to make her stay.
“There were no locks on the door, you were free to leave, but if you do they are going to kill your mom and my brother would get beaten up,” she said.
“I had constant threats.”
Nagy is in Calgary this week speaking at a human trafficking workshop to city police, RCMP, immigration and border officials looking at how to increase awareness of identifying victims.
Now 32 she works at an Ontario-based Salvation Army women’s shelter and shares her story to put a real face on the insidious yet often invisible crime.
“Every single time I tell the story I go through all the emotions again, but until the public hears it from a victim, it’s not real,” she said.
“It exists.”
Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar global industry with victims recruited and exploited for everything from slavery to sexual abuse and labour.
RCMP said some 15,000 people are trafficked in and through Canada each year.
Nagy’s intent when she found that ad was to find work when things slowed down in her TV production company.
“It was for a young woman, English is not necessary and you can start right away and I could be a babysitter or housekeeper,” she said.
Arriving in Canada, however, she was not allowed in because papers filled out by her alleged employers contradicted her words.
“It said I was to work as an exotic dancer and I was saying I was coming for babysitting,” she said.
While waiting for a flight home Nagy met the men she was to work for, who told her she “screwed up” only to bring her back a short time later with a fake passport.
Selling her body seven days a week at a strip club and a massage parlour, she earned her captors about $20,000.
In two weeks she lost 20 lbs., and over the next few months, life as she knew it.
“I lost my life, my dreams ... it took about nine years to ... find a new reason to get up in the morning.”
Log onto www.info@walk-with-me.org for more information.
Police Act amendments give more power to police complaint commissioner...
September 17, 2009, By THE CANADIAN PRESS
VICTORIA, B.C. - B.C.'s police complaint commissioner is getting more power to oversee investigations against municipal police officers.
Solicitor General Kash Heed says amendments to the Police Act will allow the complaint commissioner to get involved in real-time investigations of officers, as opposed to just reviewing the final results.
"The amendments to the Police Act are for us to move forward and create greater accountability in British Columbia to ensure that we have proper civilian oversight for our police here in British Columbia," Heed, a former West Vancouver Police chief, said Thursday.
The Police Act amendments were introduced earlier this year but the legislature adjourned before any changes were adopted.
The amendments ensure that officers under investigation who retire or resign will still be subject to the police complaint process. Former Victoria police chief Paul Battershill resigned in August 2008, days before he was to face a disciplinary hearing due to complaints of favouritism.
The amendments force officers to report any information uncovered during an investigation that relates to possible misconduct to the police complaint commissioner.
The commissioner will be authorized to order an investigation even if a complaint is withdrawn and will decide if a complaint warrants investigation from an internal or external force.
The commissioner, however, will not have the power to conduct independent investigations solely through the commissioner's office.
Heed said the Police Act amendments are simply a start and if further changes - like independent investigations - are required, they will be looked at.
"If it's not working, if it's not meeting our needs, if it's not creating more accountable policing here in British Columbia, I will look at furthering the process," he said.
That decision was met with disappointment by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
"This tinkering with a broken system doesn't deal with the dysfunction at the core," said Jason Gratl, the association's vice-president.
Gratl said police investigations into the deaths of Frank Paul in a Vancouver alley and Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport have represented the end of the public's tolerance for police investigating police.
Paul was left in the alley by an officer after being removed from the police drunk tank. Dziekanski died after being repeatedly stunned by an RCMP taser.
"There's only one person who appears to have any confidence left that the police can investigate themselves in B.C. and that's our solicitor general," Gratl said.
Heed said the amendments also allow the B.C. police complaints commissioner to work with the federal government and RCMP to harmonize the federal public complaints process with the new B.C. Police Act.
The RCMP polices about three-quarters of the province, with municipal officers covering the rest of B.C.
Heed said he has sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan asking for changes that would allow B.C. Mounties to be covered under the province's Police Act, despite the fact they are part of a federal force.
"We feel in order to eliminate any confusion here in British Columbia for the public that we have either a harmonized process or a unified process to ensure that oversight and accountability," he said.
Heed said the matter will be an important one as the province tries to negotiate a new contract with the RCMP by 2012.
Global Forum on Human Trafficking, October 8-9, 2009, San Diego, California
THIS UNIQUE CONFERENCE IS A Global Forum on Human Trafficking, October 8-9, 2009, San Diego, California
Click here for more info
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/events/global-forum-on-human-trafficking/
Program
The first Global Forum on Human Trafficking is a rare opportunity where leading experts from multiple fields will come together to discuss their current work to confront human trafficking. Like the issue, the conference will span local, national, and international efforts and highlight a plethora of approaches.
The leading experts confronting human trafficking acknowledge the importance of collaborating and discussing prevention, protection, and prosecution efforts -as well as the need to address effects of human trafficking, like poverty. The Not For Sale Campaign is bringing together the world’s leading abolitionists working in Canada, Nepal, Australia, the United States, and other countries to discuss the most effective measures to confront this global atrocity…
Only on question remains…
Will you be there?
Sex Crimes Investigators Conference 2009 CALGARY
The Calgary Police Service Sex Crimes Unit understands the need to provide specialized training to sex crimes investigators, front-line officers, and personnel from partner agencies.
As such, the theme of the Sex Crimes Investigators Conference 2009:
Successful Investigations, Successful Prosecutions; Holding Offenders Responsible, emphasizes the necessity of collaboration among medical, counselling, police and the Crown, in order to provide resolution for victims of sexual assault and hold offenders accountable.
CONFERENCE DETAILS
WHEN: September 14 to 16, 2009
WHERE: Fairmont Palliser Hotel
CONTACT:
Det. Lynne Cunningham
Staff Sgt. Curtis Olson
Or via e-mail: sexcrimes@calgarypolice.ca
CONFERENCE AGENDA
http://calgarysexcrimesconf.typepad.com/files/sex-crimes-investigators-conference-agenda-5.pdf
Man seeks government compensation for son killed by pedophile
September 13, 2009, By Sidhartha Banerjee, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - It's been almost a decade since Andre Livernoche's son was sexually assaulted and murdered by a convicted pedophile who should have not been freed from jail.
After years of waiting, he's getting a chance to demand compensation, in front of a Quebec judge Monday for the brutal sex-slaying of his son Alexandre.
He was initially offered $17,500 by the Quebec government, but Livernoche has scoffed at the amount.
Most Canadian provinces and territories have compensation programs for crime victims, though all have different guidelines as to when and how the money is doled out.
But Quebec in particular has no clear rules for awarding victims of violent crime, something victims' rights advocate Pierre-Hughes Boisvenu knows this first-hand.
When his own daughter Julie, 27, was murdered in 2002, the Quebec government initially awarded him just $600 for funeral expenses. That amount has since been changed to $3,000.
Boisvenu said most people don't have the financial means to battle the government in court. Those who do often wait years to receive a civil award - if they're lucky.
Livernoche filed in 2006. He said he doesn't know what awaits him when he arrives Monday in Quebec Superior Court, but he says the dispute should have been settled amicably, long ago.
"What do you want me to say? I'm going to trial, the system leads me there," Livernoche said in an interview.
"I didn't want to go to trial, I don't believe in it."
Convicted pedophile Mario Bastien was found guilty in 2001 of first-degree murder in the brutal August 2000 sexual assault and murder of Alexandre Livernoche.
The killer was out on an extended pass from a detention centre where he was serving time for several unrelated offences.
Alexandre disappeared in Sorel, northeast of Montreal, after picking cucumbers. His trial heard that Bastien enticed Alexandre with the promise of odd jobs so he could repay his mother for a scooter.
Three weeks after the slaying, then-public security minister Serge Menard said Bastien shouldn't have been let out, and a subsequent government study said the province needed more probation officers and better information on released prisoners.
Justice Rejean Paul of the Quebec Superior Court said there was no way Bastien should have been allowed out on parole and called him a sadistic pedophile after Bastien was handed a life sentence.
All these things add up to compensation, Livernoche argues. He says he's asking for $2.5 million but his initial claim amount, according to court records, is $400,000.
Canadian provinces and territories have a wide range of compensation programs that vary greatly from one jurisdiction to another. According to the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, the amounts paid out can vary from $2,000 to $127,000.
But what's particular in this case is that the government and other officials have said publicly that the state committed an error. Livernoche insists it's not about the money, but the principle.
"It's a question of principle. There was an error committed, admitted," Livernoche said.
"They (the government) admitted it. . . The trial should really be to determine the amount."
The government has tried on at least two occasions to settle with Livernoche, who has rejected both offers. He was initially offered $17,500 and that offer was upped recently to $45,000.
Alexandre's mother, Sylvie Girard, and two brothers, also sued for $900,000 before accepting a settlement from the government.
Livernoche, a cancer survivor, is on welfare and has no money. His phone was recently cut off and he says he needs a quick resolution because he cannot afford to stay in a Montreal hotel for any extended period.
But regardless, he says, he'll find his way to the big city from the rural village of St-Bruno-de-Kamouraska, in the Lower St-Lawrence where he lives, for his son's sake.
"I hope it all ends soon, I hope I find peace," he said.
"When a child dies like that, it's hard to find peace. It's been nine years and I can't remember the good memories. I remember how Alexandre died."
PARENTS WARNED ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY
PARENTS WARNED ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY
Holly Desimone, an advocate against sexual violence, cautions parents against finding themselves too busy to monitor their child’s online activities.
Risk of prison suicides unacceptably high: report
By the CP OTTAWA — The risk that more mentally ill inmates will needlessly die behind bars is still unacceptably high, says the federal prison watchdog.
Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers said Friday that the prison system’s response to at least 17 in-custody suicides in the last two years has been more about process than real progress.
This, almost two years after 19-year-old Ashley Smith choked herself to death with a strip of cloth at the Grand Valley prison for women in Kitchener, Ont.
Guards watched the anguished young woman die because they’d been told not to intervene if she was still breathing. Smith had racked up a notorious list of incidents, including many suicide attempts — real and feigned.
Sapers has slammed the correctional service for not providing the care, treatment and protection Smith so desperately needed. Her long days and weeks in isolation were not properly reviewed, nor was the fact that she was transferred 17 times in 11 months, he found.
Progress to better assess inmates and offer more in-house staff support is simply not enough, he said Tuesday.
“Until accountability is strengthened through cultural and governance changes, the likelihood of future deaths like Ashley’s remains unacceptably high.”
Mentally ill prisoners being held in segregation must be independently monitored, Sapers said.
He also renewed his call that national boards investigating suicide and self-injury in prison be led by independent mental health professionals. The corrections service rejected the recommendation, saying it often includes such professionals as a matter of practice, if not policy.
At least 104 inmates have died behind bars on the last two years, Sapers said, citing statistics that he says are not consistently tracked nationally. Different regions tend to report numbers differently, he explained.
Of those, corrections reports that 71 inmates died of natural causes, 17 committed suicide, eight died of “unknown causes”, four were murdered and four overdosed.
19 abuse cases found by investigators at N.S. residence for mentally disabled
September 8, 2009, By Michael Tutton, THE CANADIAN PRESS
HALIFAX, N.S. - Residents of an aging centre in Nova Scotia for mentally handicapped and mentally ill adults suffered 19 cases of physical, emotional or sexual abuse over the past two years, say government documents obtained by The Canadian Press under provincial access to information legislation.
The 19 cases at the Riverview adult residential centre in Riverton, just south of New Glasgow, represent almost half of the 43 cases across the province that were classified as "founded" by investigators between Oct. 2, 2007, and July 31, 2009.
The cases have prompted advocacy groups to call for a full investigation into what's behind abuse of the developmentally disabled and renewed a debate about whether harm is more likely to occur at larger institutions than smaller homes.
The list of founded abuse cases at Riverview - which means an incident is accepted as having happened - includes four instances where staff physically harmed residents.
The 89-year-old centre houses about 100 residents with varying mental disabilities, including Down syndrome and long-term mental illness, with some residents sharing rooms and living in what's called "secure units." It also includes several smaller detached homes.
Across the province, 1,625 residents with developmental disabilities are housed at licensed group homes and residential centres that are covered by the act.
The cases of abuse were investigated under the Protection of Persons in Care Act, which defines physical abuse as actions "resulting in pain, discomfort or injury, including slapping, hitting, beating, burning, rough handling, tying up or binding."
At Riverview, there were two founded cases of neglect by staff, defined as failure to provide adequate care.
In addition, there were two cases of emotional abuse by staff, defined as "causing emotional harm," by actions such as intimidation or humiliation.
The remaining 11 cases were of residents abusing other residents, with 10 of those listed as instances of "non-consensual" sexual contact and one of physical abuse.
The chief executive officer of Riverview said the cases have been taken seriously and the centre has responded to ensure residents are protected.
But advocates for the disabled argue the cases at Riverview show larger institutions for the developmentally disabled - which have been closed in Ontario and British Columbia - are more prone to abuse than smaller homes.
"One case is too many," said John Cox, the executive director of People First of Nova Scotia.
"In publicly funded buildings, why is this going on? Why is even one occurring?"
Mary Rothman, the director of the Nova Scotia Association for Community Living, said she wasn't surprised at the results of the investigations as research shows larger institutions are "less safe" than smaller group homes.
"There should be a massive investigation, there should be immediate updated training for the staff. We as an association believe plans should be in place to close the place down over the next couple of years and plans should be created for the residents to live in a home, in a more normalized situation," she said in an interview.
People First of Nova Scotia says the province has one of the highest rates per capita of institutionalization of adults with various disabilities, though Cox notes that Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan also continue to have large, decades-old centres.
The overall results for Nova Scotia show that by March 2009, the bulk of the complaints and abuse cases that were determined to be founded were at larger institutions in the province, with 24 abuse cases happening at adult residential centres, and 10 in regional rehabilitation centres. There were two abuse cases in smaller group homes.
The Department of Community Services only agreed to provide details for Riverview, saying it won't discuss the nature of abuse at other facilities because of privacy concerns as those homes have five or fewer founded cases of abuse.
Nancy Clarke, the CEO of the non-profit Riverview centre, said the response of her staff and the province to the abuse was thorough and has protected the residents.
"We have taken these stats very seriously and we put measures in that monitor things very seriously, and the fact you are seeing statistics indicates the act is working and we are doing our part to report," she said in a telephone interview.
Asked why the latest case of staff physically abusing a resident happened this year, Clarke responded, "this is extremely, extremely stressful work. It's probably always going to be an issue."
"The other stat that isn't there (in the act) is the number of times that staff are physically assaulted. ... We have staff that are assaulted on a daily basis. ... When you're dealing with people who have profound disabilities and they are extremely, extremely aggressive, it's a very stressful situation."
Over the past year, Clarke said the level of stress was higher because the sprinkler system in the building failed, resulting in flooding, which caused tighter living conditions during the repairs.
She said staff also strictly interprets the act when complaints about non-consensual sexual contact between residents are made because there are "a great number of clients who are unable to give consent" to sexual activity.
"We have to be very, very careful. If it's somebody who isn't able to give consent and you have somebody come up to them and put their arms around them, or give them a kiss, as a society we may not think that's a big deal, but to a client with intellectual disabilities ... it can really be a trigger to them."
She said residents involved in sexual abuse have in some cases been moved to other facilities, there has been increased supervision of a resident involved and some residents have received courses on appropriate behaviour.
Clarke said staff who work with residents have been trained in conflict management, and have taken courses in dealing with difficult behaviour. There are 170 people working in the facility, including nurses, licensed practical nurses and residential rehabilitation workers, as well as maintenance staff and managers.
In addition, the Department of Community Services provided a course on abuse in mid-August, a government spokesman said.
A $19-million renovation is underway at the centre, Clarke said, with plans to build three more buildings on the grounds and a 24-room addition to the main building.
She declined to comment on the precise nature of the abuse or to confirm whether staff were disciplined.
"We have taken very stringent action," she said.
According to the documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, there have been four staff suspended as a result of abuse at residences across the province, though the documents don't define where or what happened. There were also seven cases referred for police investigation, but the province says no charges were laid.
Lorna MacPherson, the director of the services for people with disabilities at the Department of Community Services, said a review of the operations, finances and administration of Riverview is underway, and it will include a look at abuse rates.
"We can't derive any basis for why it (abuse) is continuing. The review we are undertaking will help inform some answers to that," she said in an interview.
She also said there has been a steady decline across the province in the number of complaints reported under the act over the past two years, partly due to changes in the definition of abuse to exclude instances where a patient's mental condition may lead them to abuse others.
Drunk driver as dangerous offender? Legal precedent could be set this week!
September 6, 2009, By Sidhartha Banerjee, THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - Canadian legal history could be made this week when a Quebec man finds out whether he will become this country's first drunk driver to be declared a dangerous offender.
The dangerous offender designation is usually reserved for the very worst criminals in Canada - like murderers and serial rapists.
But in a Valleyfield, Que., courtroom this Wednesday, a judge could set a legal precedent that would make it easier for repeat drunk drivers who kill people to be locked away under that designation.
Roger Walsh pleaded guilty to a 19th impaired driving charge last December - this time after he mowed down Anee Khudaverdian in October. The wheelchair-bound mother was out with her dog, on her 47th birthday.
While awaiting the decision from Quebec court Judge Michel Mercier, the victim's sister said it's a historic opportunity to make roads safer.
"If they don't hand it down (in this case), we're in trouble - an impaired driver will never be given a sentence like this again," said Clara Khudaverdian, a Montreal sociologist who has pushed for stricter laws since her sister's death.
"If people know this (dangerous offender status) is a possibility if you re-offend, they may think twice."
Although prosecutors have tried on two occasions - once in Ontario and once in Alberta - no Canadian judge has ever granted a dangerous offender tag for an impaired driving conviction.
But in this case, Crown lawyer Joey Dubois said he's taking advantage of a 2008 Criminal Code amendment.
The change allows him to seek the dangerous offender status with a lengthy prison term - 20 years, followed by 10 years of close surveillance - as opposed to an indeterminate prison sentence.
The change was introduced in the Tories' Tackling Violent Crime Act.
Under the old rules, the dangerous-offender designation automatically meant an indefinite prison stay and was reserved for the worst violent criminals. Now, someone with the designation can get a fixed prison sentence - but if they breach conditions once they're freed, they could be thrown back in jail indefinitely.
Walsh's lawyer, Jacques Vinet, has proposed a 10-year sentence.
He pleaded guilty this past December to hit-and-run causing death, impaired driving causing death, and violating a court order barring him from drinking.
Anee Khudaverdian was propelled into a ditch after being struck by his minivan. Walsh kept driving and was arrested less than 10 kilometres away after driving into a ditch himself.
The court has heard that Walsh had been binge-drinking and was at more than double the legal blood alcohol limit of .08.
Walsh's 18 previous impaired driving convictions and 114 previous convictions in total for assault, uttering threats, breaking and entering and theft were entered into evidence.
So were four expert reports, drawn up during previous incarceration, that suggested Walsh had little hope of curbing his alcohol addiction.
Legal experts are keen to see how the judge rules, given the changes to the law and the jurisprudence that has urged judges to use the status sparingly.
"Even if an individual meets the statutory requirements, there's a residual discretion in the judges and they've been directed by the Supreme Court of Canada and by various appellate courts to not impose the label unless the offender is the worst of the worst," said Sanjeev Anand, a law professor at the University of Alberta.
"But I don't know how the (Quebec) court is going to deal with the prior jurisprudence under the old version of the legislation," Anand said.
"It'll be interesting to see."
Two previous attempts to have recidivist drunk drivers declared dangerous offenders have failed.
Prosecutors in Alberta had sought a dangerous offender designation for Raymond Charles Yellowknee.
He was eventually declared a long-term offender and sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison for killing a woman and her three children.
Yellowknee pleaded guilty to 18 charges in the January 2006 collision, including four counts of drunk driving causing the deaths of Misty Chalifoux, 28, and her three daughters - Michelle, 13, Trista, 9, and Larissa, 6.
He committed suicide in prison last month.
Clara Khudaverdian said it's time for society to start taking impaired driving more seriously.
Her older sister Anee, stricken with polio and confined to a wheelchair since childhood, had a lived a rich life and loved animals, volunteering at local shelters. Most of all, she lived for her daughter, whom she had at age 40.
Clara said she'll fight on for her niece Bailey, who was left without a mother.
"I'm doing this for my niece so that when she grows up, she'll know her aunt fought for her mom," she said.
"I want her to see that in this world, you need to fight and you're capable of making change - one single person can."
Rapist ID'd through sweat gets 100 years
September 01, 2009 BEL AIR, Md. (AP)
A rapist whose sweat led to his arrest has been sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Glenn Raynor was arrested more than two years after the attack, which occurred in Bel Air in April 2006. Authorities say Raynor broke into a woman's home in the middle of the night, cut her phone lines and raped her in her bed.
State police collected DNA swabs from more than 20 people but failed to develop a suspect. A tip from the victim last summer led police to interview Raynor. After the interview, police swabbed the chair where he'd been sitting, and DNA from his sweat was found to match blood from the crime scene.
Raynor was convicted in July of 12 counts including first-degree rape. He was sentenced Tuesday.
Rape Protective Measures
Rape and Sexual Assault
Rape is a violent crime, an invasion, a frightening experience. Rape affects all women, no matter what their age, race or economic status. All women are potential victims of sexual assault.
By being aware, a woman can reduce the likelihood of becoming a rape victim. This does not mean all rapes can be prevented.
Rapists commit rape -- NOT VICTIMS.
Psychological Preparedness
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1. Accept the fact that you are a potential rape victim. Many women operate under the illusion "it will never happen to me. It may.
2. Educate yourself concerning rape prevention tactics.
3. Become familiar with community rape prevention and counseling.
4. Become aware of locations and situations where rape is more likely to occur and avoid them, or take precautions.
In a Dating/Friend Situation
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1. The majority of rapes that occur are termed "acquaintance rapes" - the rapist and victim know one another. Trust your feelings. If you become uncomfortable in a situation, assertively ask the person to leave. Don't worry about hurt feelings.
2. If possible, let a friend or roommate know who you are with and where you will be. Leave an address and phone number when possible.
In Your Car
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1. Keep windows and doors locked.
2. If you should be followed into your driveway, stay in your car with the doors locked. Sound horn to get the attention of neighbors or scare the other driver
off.
3. When parking at night, select a place that will be well-lit when returning to the car.
4. Always make sure the car is locked, and have the keys ready when returning to the car.
5. Check interior of car before getting in.
On the Street
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1. Be observant of things around you. If someone is following you, go to the nearest house or store.
2. Walk near the curb and avoid passing close to shrubbery, dark doorways and other places of concealment.
3. DO NOT HITCHHIKE.
4. Avoid short cuts through parking lots and alleys.
5. Walk with a friend if at all possible. Don't walk alone.
6. If a car approaches you and you feel threatened, scream and run in the direction opposite of the one the car is going.
7. When arriving home by taxi or private auto, ask the driver to wait until you are inside.
8. Don't jog in secluded areas.
9. Know the location of the special emergency phones campus.
In Your Home
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1. The best lock cannot function if you fail to lock it. Be sure to keep your doors locked.
2. All windows should have secure locks and frames.
3. All entrances and garages should be well-lit.
4. Never open the door after a knock. Require the person to give their name. In the case of service persons ask for proper I.D. and refuse entrance if you feel uneasy.
If You Are Sexually Assaulted
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The best resistance you can use against an attacker is your common sense. Think! Don't panic. The most important element to remember is that you are not trying to fight the attacker, but are attempting to divert the person long enough to get away. Always look for a way to escape.
If the attacker has a weapon, use your common sense. Fighting against it could be dangerous.
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1. Stay calm. Do not do anything that may upset the attacker.
2. Try to convince the person to put the weapon down.
3. Talk to your attacker, show sympathy and understanding.
4. Make the attacker see you as an individual, not as an object.
If the attacker is unarmed, you may be able to scare, distract or injure the person enough to make your escape.
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1. Scream "FIRE," "POLICE," or create a disturbance that will attract attention.
2. Assert yourself and fight back if you can do so safely.
3. Break away and run toward areas with people.
4. Be observant so that you will be able to remember and identify the assailant.
5. Report the incident to the police as soon as possible.
Checklist for Victims of Sexual Assault
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You may want to call the Rape Crisis Line for instructions and support.
1. Report the crime immediately to the police.
2. Do not shower, douche, or change clothing.
3. Have a medical exam and internal gynecological exam as soon as possible. A delay in time may destroy evidence.
a) Semen smears must be taken by a clinician.
b) Inform clinician of exact acts committed upon you and have the clinician note any medical evidence of them.
c) Clinician should note any bruises or injuries bleeding, lacerations, etc.) external or internal.
d) Have clinician test for venereal diseases (and pregnancy later, if relevant).
4. Do not disturb the scene of the assault.
5. Inform police of all details of attack, however intimate, and of anything unusual you may have noted about the attacker. Remember what the person said and how it was said. It may lead to the arrest of the assailant.
6. Show police any external bruises or injuries, however minor, resulting from the attack.
7. Police may request your clothes for purpose of evidence.
8. Inform the police if you remember anything that was not previously reported.
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