Macintosh Case Attracts Attention of Survivors Group

By Nancy King
Cape Breton Post
January 10, 2012

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2012-01-09/article-2859042/MacIntosh-case-attracts-attention-of-survivors-group/1

The case of Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh has attracted the attention of a group that advocates on behalf of people who say that they are survivors of sexual abuse.

The Atlantic chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has been looking into the MacIntosh matter, and its regional head Dave Mantin says he has recently been in almost daily contact with some of the men who say they were abused as youngsters by MacIntosh.

Mantin said the network is helping some of the complainants in the MacIntosh case assess what legal options may now be available to them.

“In this particular case, I read about it in the newspaper and I thought it just doesn’t sound right, (the group’s involvement) is really out of more personal curiosity, I started investigating a little bit,” Mantin said.

Last month, 17 convictions of indecent assault and gross indecency against MacIntosh, 68, dating back to incidents alleged to have occurred in the 1970s, were thrown out by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. The court unanimously found that delays in the matter going to trial and in the extradition of MacIntosh from India impeded his ability to defend against the charges.

The court also found that Justice Simon MacDonald misapprehended some evidence heard at the first trial. Had a stay of proceedings due to delay not been entered, the court would have ordered a new trial on the matters.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests was founded in the United States in the late 1980s. While it mentions those abused by priests in its name, Mantin noted the focus has broadened to others abused as children.

Mantin said he’s been deluged with documents compiled over the years by one of the complainants, who can only be identified as DRS.

“There were so many issues, I couldn’t keep up with it,” he said. “There’s so many mistakes in this case, something has to be done.”

Mantin is adding his voice to those calling for a federal inquiry of the MacIntosh case.

“It’s got to be federal because that’s how far the mistakes go,” he said.

The Crown has 60 days from the date of the decision — Dec. 8 — to decide whether to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Chris Hansen, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, said Monday no decision has yet been made about filing an appeal. The court's decision stressed that it is the responsibility of the state to bring an accused to trial.

“If you can run long enough, your rights have been violated to a speedy trial, it is now law,” he said.

The appeals court decision can be cited as a precedent in future cases, Mantin noted.

The first charge, which was related to incidents that allegedly occurred in the Strait area in the 1970s, was filed against MacIntosh in 1995. A year earlier, MacIntosh, who operated businesses in the Strait area, had moved to India where he worked as a telecommunications specialist. He was extradited back to Canada to face the charges in 2007.

In 1997, Canada’s head of consular affairs asked Passport Canada to revoke MacIntosh’s passport, which would have forced him back to Canada to face the two charges that had been filed against him at the time. In April 1998, the Crown consented to MacIntosh withdrawing his application of a judicial review of that decision, which allowed him to continue to travel internationally.

The formal extradition request was made in August 1998. The complete extradition package was ready by July 2003 but it wasn't until July 2006 that the extradition request was forwarded to India. MacIntosh was arrested in India on April 5, 2007, and the court there agreed to extradite him May 26. He first appeared in court in Port Hawkesbury June 8 of that year.

MacIntosh has two similar but unrelated convictions dating back to the early 1980s.

Contact: nking@cbpost.com