CANADA
London Free Press
COLIN PERKEL, CP 2005-08-30 01:48:54
TORONTO -- A Jehovah's Witness who sexually abused his daughter was sentenced yesterday to two years less a day, to be served in the community, in a case that cast a spotlight on how the church handles sex-abuse complaints within its ranks.
The victim, Vicki Boer, said the sentencing of her father validates her allegations and should force the church to face up to its shortcomings in handling her abuse complaint.
"For the first time, somebody believed me," Boer said of the judge.
"It makes (the elders) accountable. They've never had to be accountable," she said in an interview from Fredericton.
In June, Gower Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in Ontario Superior Court in Orangeville, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto.