BishopAccountability.org
	Timeline By Kelowna Canwest News Service December 16, 2009 http://www.kelowna.com/2009/12/16/timeline/ Canada -- Cornwall Inquiry Commissioner Normand Glaude yesterday issued a 2,400-word report detailing authorities' failure to respond to years of alleged sex assaults on children. Stories of alleged sexual abuse in Cornwall date back to the 1950s. 1992 A former altar boy complains of being assaulted more than two decades earlier by a Cornwall priest, Rev. Charles MacDonald, and a probation officer. He drops the charges after receiving a $32,000 cash settlement from the diocese. 1994 Constable Perry Dunlop, of the Cornwall police force's drug squad, learns of the settlement and leaks the information to the Children's Aid Society. The Ontario Provincial Police launch their own investigation and late that year announce they have no grounds to lay charges against Fr. MacDonald. More stories emerge about abuses by prominent members of the community, dating back to the 1950s and '60s. Const. Dunlop, is charged with, and eventually cleared of, leaking the details of the settlement. He goes on stress leave. March 1996 Fr. MacDonald is charged with seven counts of indecent assault against three altar boys. 1997 On returning to work Const. Dunlop hands over 10 banker's boxes of evidence to the Ontario government and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services. July 1997 The OPP launches Project Truth to investigate allegations of a decades-old pedophile ring, whose members could include leading area officials and Roman Catholic clergymen. January1998 Fr. MacDonald is arrested and charged with sex-related offences, relating to complaints from five males. He already faces trial on seven previous counts of indecent assault. July 1998 Cornwall police charge seven men — including two priests and a third Church official — with indecent assault and gross indecency. June 2001 A sexual predator pleads guilty to 12 attacks on 10 young males — the first conviction from a police investigation into the alleged pedophile ring, although he had not been a target of Project Truth investigation. August 2001 The OPP announce they can find no evidence that prominent members of the Cornwall community conspired to sexually prey on young boys over four decades. Four accused died before they could be tried, three were found not guilty, six had their cases either stayed or dropped. May 2002 Fr. MacDonald has his charges stayed when a judge rules Crown delays breached his right to a timely trial. November 2004 Premier Dalton McGuinty announces a public inquiry. February 2006 Testimony begins in the inquiry, with Justice Normand Glaude presiding. September 2007 Const. Dunlop is dismissed after his refusal to testify at the probe. "I have no faith in the Ontario justice system," he says. March 2008 Mr. Dunlop, who insists he is the victim of a widespread and high-level conspiracy to protect pedophiles, is sentenced to at least six months in jail for contempt of court. October 2008 Mr. Dunlop is sentenced to another 30 days in jail after being convicted of criminal contempt. January 2009 After almost three years, $53-million and some 175 witnesses, the Cornwall inquiry hears from its final witness.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.