BishopAccountability.org
	Victim Weeps at Jail Time for Abuser By Sam Pazzano Toronto Sun May 23, 2009 http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/05/23/9544251-sun.html A middle-aged woman wept tears of frustration after a retired United Church minister who molested the parishioner was sent to jail for half the time the prosecution sought. "He ruined my life and he gets two years less a day in prison," said the 54-year-old woman after Superior Court Justice Elizabeth Stewart sentenced Rev. William Major for sexual assault yesterday. He also received three years probation. "He deserves the four or five years that (Crown attorney Joanne Capozzi) asked for," said the woman, who cannot be legally identified. "The judge said he suffered public humiliation. I know that the people for the church look at me like I'm dirt. I did nothing but go to him for help and he took advantage of me. Now I'll never be part of any religion for as long as I live," the woman said. She was raised a Roman Catholic whose family revered priests and ministers as "next to God." The judge said Major, now 65, "abused his position of trust" by having a long-term sexual relationship with this vulnerable parishioner and violated church rules. Under the guise of counselling the woman for her childhood sexual abuse, Major engaged her in acts of masturbation, oral sex, fondling and one instance of intercourse for "his own gratification," Stewart said. "The victim was vulnerable and he took advantage of her vulnerability and trust," said Stewart of the crimes committed between Jan. 1, 1996, and Dec. 20, 2005. Major apologized to the victim for "all the pain, anguish and torment" he caused her. The judge recognized the many character letters outlining Major's community service work over the years and noted his apology. She wished him good luck in his rehabilitation and hoped the sentence served to deter others and denounce this conduct. "His apology means nothing," said the victim. "It was self-serving and he was told to say it. He fooled me and my guard was held so high. These people who wrote those letters haven't been abused by him." Earlier, the judge said she didn't believe Major's testimony of a mutual love affair, branding his account as "self-serving and unreliable." Stewart said the woman, who was then 42, was suffering from a major depression and contemplated suicide when she sought guidance from Major in 1996 when he was the minister at Manor Road United Church. Major was a federal candidate for the NDP in Sudbury during the 1988 election and has worked extensively for anti-poverty groups. Contact: sam.pazzano@sunmedia.ca
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