CANADA
London Free Press
PETER GEIGEN-MILLER, Free Press Reporter 2005-02-20 03:02:08
A London law firm and a victim of abuse are taking on another high-profile sexual abuse case, this time in the eastern Ontario city of Cornwall. The firm, Ledroit Beckett, has filed three civil suits alleging sexual abuse by high-profile residents of Cornwall.
Details of the suits on behalf of three people will be announced in Cornwall Tuesday, said John Swales, a representative of the London firm and a victim of childhood sexual abuse.
We "have gone from setting precedents in Canadian courts on sexual abuse to delving into the biggest sexual abuse case in Canadian history," Swales said yesterday.
"I think that is significant for the home team."
Lawyer Paul Ledroit said yesterday the civil suits will help to tear open a veil of secrecy that has shrouded the Cornwall case.
"We are going to use the judicial system because we know it works," said Ledroit.
"Obviously a lot of the coverup will come out in the sex abuse trials, but our main focus is not so much the coverup but the abuse itself."
The coverup is complex, a spider's web that involves high-profile residents, he said.
The Cornwall suits arise from accusations of sexual abuse of children by high-profile officials, professionals and clergy over decades.