CANADA
Ottawa Citizen
Canadian Press
Published: Monday, March 27, 2006
CORNWALL, Ont. -- Alleged child abuse victims say motions to exclude their testimony and an eastern Ontario Catholic diocese from scrutiny threaten to render a public inquiry into their claims useless.
The independent inquiry into the handling of decades-old allegations of abuse in Cornwall resumed today after a month-long break.
Lawyers for the Alexandria-Cornwall Diocese, alleged abuse victims and other groups are to begin submissions on the motions.
Rob Talach, a lawyer for the alleged victims, says some feel the battle for closure would be lost if the motions succeed.
A police investigation in the 1990s resulted in 114 sex abuse charges against 15 Cornwall citizens.
But only one man pleaded guilty and four were acquitted.