BishopAccountability.org
	Former Ottawa Police Officer Slams Local Force's Investigation of Sexual Abuse Claim Supt. Brian Skinner Says Cornwall's Probe of Allegations Was " Inept and Ineffective" Standard Freeholder February 13, 2008 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=901176 The Cornwall police force's investigation into sexual abuse allegations made in December 1992 by David Silmser was "inept and ineffective" but there was no cover-up, the Cornwall Public Inquiry heard Wednesday morning. Supt. Brian Skinner, a retired police officer with the Ottawa police force, came to Cornwall in 1994 to examine how the police responded to allegations made by Silmser against city priest Charles MacDonald and probation officer Ken Seguin. Among his findings, Skinner told commission counsel Ian Stauffer, were that the principal investigator, Heidi Sebalj, was "far too junior" to conduct an investigation of that magnitude. Skinner said while Sebalj was a good officer, her inexperience meant that some potential witnesses were never interviewed and that she was able to be "manipulated" by Silmser. Silmser had asked police for a male investigator, but Sebalj was assigned to the case instead, Skinner added. He also called into question the five-week delay between Silmser making his allegations and the investigation getting underway. "It just had too many holes in it to be an effective investigation," Skinner said. "It couldn't have happened in my force, and that's all I have to compare it with." Silmser was offered a $32,000 payout by MacDonald's diocese in exchange for not laying any charges, either civil or criminal, against the priest. MacDonald was charged in 1996, but those charges were stayed in 2002. He has steadfastly maintained his innocence. Seguin was never charged with any crime. He committed suicide in 1993.
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