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	Cornwall Inquiry Digs into Testimony of 'Victim' Ottawa Sun [Canada] April 19, 2007 http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/04/19/4068117.html Cornwall — Lawyers at an inquiry probing the institutional response to allegations of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area have found themselves in unfamiliar waters in recent days. In an attempt to wrap up cross-examination of the evidence presented by witness David Silmser earlier this year, lawyers are being forced to go over his testimony in his absence. Doctors determined in February that Silmser was unable to return to the inquiry for medical reasons. Lawyer John Callaghan, who is representing Cornwall police, and other lawyers who didn't have a chance to question Silmser on his testimony are now attempting to scrutinize his evidence before Commissioner Normand Glaude and offer some form of cross-examination through documents and statements as to whether Silmser's take on the process was accurate. One example stems from Silmser's suggestion that police and Crown attorneys were dragging their heels when it came to laying charges against Rev. Charles MacDonald, one of the men Silmser claims abused him as a young boy. Callaghan said Wednesday that officers conducting the investigation had only Silmser's story to go on for some time, and putting together charges against the priest was not an easy task. "His (Silmser's) retelling of the (alleged incidents) had to be scrutinized," Callaghan said. "There was no physical evidence; there was nothing to assist them." Callaghan suggested Silmser's stories were "inconsistent" and were missing "crucial details." This meant prosecutors would have had trouble establishing reasonable and probable grounds upon which to take the charges before a judge, he said. Silmser's evidence is considered essential in order for the commission to meet its mandate, which is to examine the response of public institutions to historical allegations of abuse in the Cornwall area. Silmser had significant contact with city police, Ontario Provincial Police, the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Children's Aid Society. During Silmser's time on the stand, the inquiry heard a lot of evidence. Silmser talked about the abuse he said he suffered at the hands of a city priest, a probation officer who committed suicide in the 1990s, and a teacher. He talked about how he was increasingly frustrated with the way his allegations were handled by police agencies and Crown attorneys.
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