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City cop says CAS was ‘stricken’ with cases of alleged abuse
Posted By By Greg Peerenboom
Posted 1 day ago
A city cop’s investigation into a woman’s complaint of sexual abuse eventually led him to discover the Children’s Aid Society was stricken with “systemic” abuse.
Acting Staff Sgt. Shawn White discovered there were other alleged victims when he “re-investigated” an earlier complaint by Jeannette Antoine, a former CAS ward.
White testified at the Cornwall Public Inquiry Monday. The inquiry is examining the institutional response to allegations of sexual abuse.
“Your work takes on a critical mass, that involves not just (former CAS worker Brian) Keogh, but as you investigate into the CAS group home, you come across victims who have additional allegations,” said Helen Daley, counsel for Citizens for Community Renewal.
White agreed.
Possibly the most serious of his cases, when he teamed with an OPP officer, involved an alleged attempt by a mother to coerce her son to kill her own daughter.
Originally, the daughter had been a CAS ward.
White recalled how the mother and son planned to lure the daughter from out of a CAS group home with the aid of friend.
The brother would then stab her with a knife.
Despite this information, no charge of conspiracy to commit murder was ever laid.
Dallas Lee, attorney for The Victims’ Group, wondered why.
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“For you to be charged you had to have an agreement to do the criminal act, of conspiring, not to just go along,” said White, who was calm and rarely faltered during his testimony.
He said the brother changed his plan when he arrived at the group home. Instead of waiting outside the home, the brother was at the doorstep with knife in hand.
His sister quickly became aware of the weapon and fled into the home. “It was not in his heart,” said the city officer, who joined the service in 1987.
During the course of the investigation, White said he consulted with Crown attorney Murray MacDonald and regional Crown attorney Peter Griffiths.
Lee and Daley both questioned why other charges were not laid against CAS workers with respect to separate allegations.
White explained that most of the alleged victims did not wish to pursue the matters in court.
And in cases that involved common assault, a six-month statutory limit had long elapsed from some of these incidents which occurred in the 1970s.
White said he was told at the time by the Crown that it would not pursue common assault charges.
Earlier in the day, White spoke about his re-investigation into Antoine’s complaint.
Under cross-examination White said his probe was meant to be “fresh” and previous work by his colleague, Const. Kevin Malloy, would only be background.
There was a question as to the role of Const. Heidi Sebalj, who accompanied White on his interviews with Antoine.
But other than her presence as a female officer, White said the investigation was his alone.
Sebalj’s place in the city police’s response to historical cases is unclear as she has been excused from providing testimony.
The testimony of Greg Bell, a former CAS caseworker, continues today.
The inquiry hopes to hear from former CAS executive director Thomas O’Brien later this week.
Article ID# 1256903

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Buy a copy of the standard and look at the picture on top of this article look at the man's face he show's nothing but contempt for the people that are questioning him. These people will all cover their own proverbial asses.
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Post #1 By dodger, 1 day ago 0 Votes Vote:

Why are any of us not surprised and why are none of us surprised by the following quote:*****"the Children’s Aid Society was stricken with “systemic” abuse."? I rest my case!!!
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Post #2 By oacas, 18 hours ago 0 Votes Vote:

Amen