LexMonitor

Scouts Canada Admits Not Reporting Abuse Claims

After issuing a blanket apology to former Scouts who were sexually abused and claiming that every single allegation of sexual misconduct was reported to authorities, Scouts Canada has now admitted that some allegations of sexual misconduct were not investigated and not reported to police as...

Sports and Scouts at Risk of Liability for Sexual Abuse

Vicarious Liability for Sexual Abuse Claims: What does the Future Hold for Sports Organizations, Scouts and Not-For-Profit Organizations? Recently CBC’s Fifth Estate aired a report exposing Boy Scouts Canada’s system for recording the names of pedophiles within the organization, euphemistically...

Crazy Decision of the Month: Greece Defines Pedophilia as a Disability

In what has to be one of the most stunning examples in history of government incompetence, the Greek government has decided to expand a list of categories that entitles persons with disability to receive financial support. I can hear you say..."But wait John, isn't helping persons with...

Court to Rule on Reliability of Repressed Memory in Abuse Case

Sexual abuse victims often struggle for years with memories of the traumatic abuse they suffered as children. In some cases, the experiences are so traumatic that they block out (or repress) the memories. This week the Minnesota Supreme Court is hearing a motion to determine the validity of...

Former Bishop Lahey to be Sentenced on child porn charges today

Raymond Lahey, the former Bishop of Antigonish, will hear today how much time he is to serve for his admitted possession of child pornography. In May last year Lahey surprised the court by pleading guilty and asking to go to jail pending his sentencing hearing. I speculated at the time that...

Are Sexual Abuse Injuries Indivisible Invisible, or Both? - Estable v. New

Invisible Injuries One of the greatest challenges in representing survivors of childhood abuse is the fact that, for the most part, the injuries are invisible. That is to say, they are primarily psychological. You cannot point to an x-ray, CT scan or MRI to show the nature and extent of a...

Did Penn State Steal the Catholic Church’s Playbook?

Football fans and Penn State alumni around the world have been shocked by the criminal charges against Jerry Sandusky a former defensive coach for Penn State’s perennial powerhouse football team. Just Horsing Around? The criminal charges allege that Sandusky sexually abused eight young boys that...

In Remembrance

Is Archbishop Penney Guilty of Perjury?

Former Saint John's Archbishop Alphonse Penney was aware of sexual abuse allegations against former Roman Catholic Priest James Hickey as early as 1980. This according to evidence filed by the diocese’s insurers who are seeking to deny responsibility for paying civil suits filed against the...

Boy Scouts Canada Kept Secret List of Abusers: Players are different but the script is the same.

Boy Scouts Canada kept a secret list of scout leaders and volunteers who had been convicted of, or accused of sexual abuse according to an investigative report by CBC’s Fifth Estate. Secret List of Abusers According to media reports the Boy Scouts of America have long maintained a list of scout...