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	Victims of Priest Cry Foul By Jane Sims London Free Press August 16, 2007 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/08/16/4421811-sun.html Canada — Victims of a pedophile Roman Catholic priest say they are re-traumatized by the London diocese in their quest for civil compensation. The victims of Rev. Charles Sylvestre want Bishop Ronald Fabbro to step in and expedite the litigation process they say is forcing them to re-live years of sexual abuse. Many victims are expected to speak out at a news conference today in Chatham. "We believed Bishop Fabbro when he assured us our civil suits would be handled with compassion. It's not going that way," said LouAnn Soontiens, of Chatham, one of 47 women Sylvestre was convicted of indecently assaulting as children. Sylvestre, 84, died in prison in January, just three months into a four-year sentence. The case sent shockwaves through the church and particularly the London diocese and led to an overhaul of its sexual abuse policy. Sylvestre abused girls between the ages of nine and 14 over 30 years in parishes in London, Chatham, Sarnia, Pain Court and Windsor. The women provided impact statements and completed psychological examinations by renowned London psychologist Peter Jaffe as part of the criminal action. Soontiens said the victims believed Fabbro in his homily days after the end of Sylvestre's criminal case that the church "would not put us through any more." Victims are being asked to participate in hours of interviews and testing by the church's lawyers and insurers. "This has been going on too long," Soontiens said. "We already proved our case. We just want what's fair and not make us jump through hoops." Rebecca Dervaitis, from Ledroit Beckett litigation lawyers, which represents about 20 of Sylvestre's victims, said it appears the diocese wants victims to go through examinations of discovery and not settle claims based on statements during Sylvestre's criminal case. Carol Ann Mieras, another of Sylvestre's victims, has endured five hours of examination for discovery. She's scheduled for six hours of psychiatric testing and a nine-hour psychiatric assessment next week. And she has taken a stress leave from her job. "That's just excessive," she said. Mieras said she sent a letter to Fabbro with her concerns, but has not received a response. "For some of the people, they are barely getting over what happened last year and they're pushing people through that again," she said. Mieras said the church could tell the insurer not to put the victims through the process. Diocese spokesperson Ron Pickersgill said the diocese is "trying to make sure the victims have justice done and see that its done." Examinations for discovery are part of the standard legal process and it's the intention to have them conducted in "a respectful and sensitive manner" without matching what was said in the criminal proceedings. Contact: jsims@lfpress.com
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