CANADA
The Telegram
Barb Sweet
Published on June 17, 2016
A forensic psychologist acknowledged in Newfoundland Supreme Court the effect on memory of the passage of time – decades since a group of men say they were physically and sexually abused at Mount Cashel.
William Foote of New Mexico, said while specific details can be affected, people will remember the essence of abuse and experts like him take it for what it is.
Chris Blom, lawyer for the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s in the Mount Cashel civil trial, noted it was 40-plus years since the boys were at the orphanage by the time Foote interviewed five former residents in 2000.
Three of those men are among four test case John Does who say that the church should be held liable for the physical and sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of certain members of the lay order Christian Brothers from the late 1940s to early 1960s. They represent about 60 claimants.
Blom also suggested Foote, called by lawyers on behalf of the orphanage boys, unfairly depicted to the court that Mount Cashel was a cruel and sadistic experience for all boys over that time period.
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