Sexual Abuse Victim Launches $3.1-million Lawsuit

By Natalie Paddon
Our Windsor
March 28, 2014

http://www.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/4437561-sexual-abuse-victim-launches-3-1-million-lawsuit/

Chris Morrison is seeking accountability and compensation for the suffering he endured.

The victim of sexual assault at the hands of Rev. George Ferris announced during a Friday media conference that he has filed a $3.1-million lawsuit against both the retired Anglican church minister and the Anglican Diocese of Huron.

The 43-year-old Paris resident filed a statement of claim on Jan. 24.

In November, the 66-year-old Ferris was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation against Morrison.

In January, Ferris was sentenced to four years in prison.

Convictions with respect to two other male victims resulted in an additional 18-month sentence for Ferris, on top of the four years he received for crimes against Morrison.

Morrison requested that a publication ban be lifted at the end of the trial so he could be identified.

Morrison is seeking $300,000 for non-pecuniary damages for pain and suffering, $1.5 million for past and future pecuniary damages, $100,000 for special damages, $100,000 for damages for mental distress, $100,000 for aggravated damages and $1 million for punitive and exemplary damages.

Morrison’s lawyer, Rob Talach, said the amount is the maximum in each category his client could receive in a lawsuit.

The largest sum of money received by a sexual abuse victim in Canada was $1.75 million.

Morrison said he wants to hear from other victims who may be out there, but have not yet stepped forward.

“In order to achieve full accountability and a complete understanding of what transpired here, we need to have all the pieces of the George Ferris puzzle,” Talach said, reading from a statement. “We need to hear from others who may have information which answers the many questions at the core of this lawsuit.”

The statement of claim says that the relationship between Ferris and Morrison developed “under the guise of a reverend-parishioner relationship” and resulted in Ferris engaging in close and lingering embraces with Morrison before advancing to acts of oral sex, as well as anal sex.

As a result of the abuse and stress of feeling like he couldn’t speak out, Morrison lived a “self-destructive” lifestyle, which Talach said ultimately resulted in his contraction of HIV.

According to a statement of defence, Ferris acknowledges that some of the alleged activities with Morrison did occur, including masturbating, attempted oral sex and rubbing or groping. But Ferris’ statement reads that these activities “occurred with the encouragement” of Morrison during his co-op placement at the church in 1988.

Some of the questions the lawsuit will try to answer are how long Ferris had been abusing victims, who knew about the abuse and what they did when they learned about it.

Talach said the church is included in the lawsuit because they believe the church either knew or should have known about the abuse.

“We think it’s particularly suspicious that (Ferris) was transferred out of his Paris posting shortly after what we understand is a serious complaint to Paris police,” Talach said.

Ordained in 1971, Ferris served a number of parishes, including on Six Nations of the Grand River, in Walkerton and Cambridge.