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Questions persist after
woman asks for lawyer
Jason Warick, Saskatchewan
News Network, September 30, 2003
A suspect in a ritual child
abuse case asks for her lawyer during a 1991 videotaped police
interview played in court Monday, but the police officer continues
to ask her questions.
That's the second videotaped
interview played this month at a lawsuit filed by 12 people wrongly
accused of child abuse in which then-corporal Brian Dueck continues
to interrogate people alone after they've asked for a lawyer.
On the tape played Monday,
Dueck begins the interview by telling the woman she's being detained
for questioning. The woman cannot be named because it could reveal
the identity of other plaintiffs who were minors at the time
of the allegations.
Dueck says she has the right
to call and get instructions from a lawyer at any point without
delay.
He tells her that she doesn't
have to talk to him.
She asks Dueck whether she
should call a lawyer at that point, and he says it's up to her.
The interview begins with small
talk, but Dueck then tells her that he believes the six children
who are making allegations against her and the others.
The children included her own
foster children, as well as the three Ross children -- Michael,
Kathy, and Michelle -- who were fostered by another extended
family member.
The Ross children have consented
to have their names published. They have since testified they
all lied, and that none of the plaintiffs abused them.
"I believe what these
children told me. You do not lie about things like that,"
Dueck tells the woman on the videotape.
Shortly after this comment,
the woman remarks, "I think I'm going to get a lawyer."
Dueck says "fine"
but then goes right into another series of questions.
The woman is now sitting with
her arms folded and appears to laugh nervously.
Dueck tells her of specific
allegations made by one child, "and he will remember more.
He just got into therapy."
She repeatedly denies abusing
any children. The only instance of touching private parts of
children was when she had to give her foster child suppositories
to relieve constipation, she said.
Dueck then asks if she'll take
a lie detector test and she says "yes" immediately.
"I'm willing to take a
lie detector test," she repeats several times.
"I guess we'll have to
do that," Dueck replies.
But after she denies several
other specific allegations, Dueck backs away from his offer of
a polygraph.
He says "the evidence
is so overwhelming" that he doesn't know why he'd even give
her the chance to take the test.
"Polygraphs do take a
lot of time and I'm not sure we should even bother," he
says. The interview ends shortly after.
The woman was in court watching
the video, crying through much of it.
She testified Monday afternoon
that Dueck never got back to her about the polygraph.
She said her life has been
ruined since the day they were charged in July of 1991.
"They just totally took
over our lives and turned it upside down," she testified,
crying loudly.
"Today, I'm scared to
be around children."
Her husband, who was also charged,
died recently. The case hurt their relationship, and they became
reclusive, afraid of the public ridicule. They couldn't even
undress in front of each other anymore, she said.
"I hope this (lawsuit)
will clear my name. I want people to know I did nothing wrong,"
she said.
Earlier in the lawsuit, another
Dueck interview was played. One of the people charged, Anita
Klassen, repeatedly asks for her lawyer, but questioning continues
for about an hour.
Another witness Monday, retired
Saskatoon police officer Jim Walker, said that if someone asks
for a lawyer during an interview, the proper thing to do is let
them do that.
Under cross-examination by
Dueck's lawyer, David Gerrand, Walker admitted -- as other police
witnesses have -- that police will sometimes bluff or lie to
suspects in order to elicit a confession.
Gerrand asked if Walker ever
questioned Dueck's integrity and professionalism. Walker, who
worked closely with Dueck, said no.
But plaintiff lawyer Robert
Borden then asked Walker if he knew about an investigation of
a postal worker handled by Dueck. In that case, a judge ruled
Dueck used "Rambo-like tactics" and criticized the
investigation.
Walker said that he knew of
that incident.
Borden and Richard Klassen,
the only plaintiff representing himself in the suit, also introduced
an audiotape of another Dueck interview Monday.
In that tape, Dueck questions
a complainant about alleged sexual abuse he suffered at the hands
of Richard Klassen.
The complainant was in prison
for a double murder at the time.
The tape only came to light
a couple of days ago, even though both sides are supposed to
disclose all relevant material well in advance of the trial.
Dueck didn't realize he had the tape until last week, court heard.
On the tape, Dueck promises
the man -- who is still in jail -- that the tape will never be
played in court or used as evidence.
This raised a discussion among
lawyers and media whether to ban the tape, but Justice George
Baynton decided to allow the tape to be played.
"The administration of
justice requires it be made public," Baynton said.
On the tape, the man tells
Dueck that Richard Klassen abused him when the two were children.
Klassen has never been charged in the matter.
Dueck tells the man that he
visited the man's brother, who was about to disclose abuse, but
was too high to make a statement when Dueck arrived at his house.
Dueck left his business card on the brother's table.
The next day the brother was
murdered, apparently with an instrument shoved up his anus, said
Klassen. The court heard no further details about the killing.
This is Day 16 of testimony,
but the plaintiffs expect to wrap up their case with one final
witness tonight at 7 p.m. The rare evening session is being held
to accommodate lawyer Darryl Labach, whose schedule is booked
this week during the day.
Klassen and the other adults
were charged with abusing the Ross children and several others
in the case which was known as the "scandal of the century"
at the time.
The charges against them were
stayed on the eve of the trial because Klassen's father, Peter,
pleaded guilty.
Twelve of those charged are
now suing Dueck, prosecutors and a therapist for $10 million,
alleging malicious prosecution.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Police
notes destroyed, trial told
Lana Haight, The StarPhoenix,
September 27, 2003
A Saskatoon police officer
who interviewed a boy about sexual abuse while living in a foster
home has no recollection of the interview and no record of what
was said.
Even though Sgt. Ronald Schindel
is named in a 1990 foster home investigation report as having
interviewed Michael Ross, he said he no longer has his handwritten
notes.
Schindel testified on Friday
in Court of Queen's Bench at the $10-million malicious prosecution
lawsuit filed against police, prosecutors, and a therapist by
Richard Klassen and 11 members of his extended family. In 1991,
they faced charges of sexual assault stemming from horrific allegations
of ritual abuse made up by Ross and his two sisters who were
the foster children of Richard's brother and his wife.
Schindel said he would have
kept his notes for about seven years and then they would have
been destroyed, "probably by myself."
When asked to produce the report
he would have written, Schindel, a 33-year veteran with Saskatoon
Police Service, said before coming to court he checked with the
police department's central records.
"I tried to pull it up
on our system," he said, but the report couldn't be found.
The charges of sexual assault
against the family members were stayed in 1993 after Richard's
father, Peter Klassen, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in a
plea bargain.
Peter Klassen's lawyer in 1993,
Jay Watson, also took the stand on Friday.
"It was our belief that
if he pled guilty, the problems for his family would go away,"
said Watson.
But he told the court that
all the time he was Peter Klassen's lawyer, Klassen maintained
that "he did not do the things with respect to the criminal
charges."
Despite that, Watson was concerned
it would be difficult for Klassen to plead not guilty because
he had a previous conviction on similar charges.
The court watched a videotaped
interview where the lead police investigator, Brian Dueck, said
he was giving the man interviewed the opportunity to admit to
the allegations.
The man, who cannot be identified
because of a publication ban, repeatedly denied sexually touching
children.
"I honestly can't think
of anything that I've done," he said. "I'm trying to
run things through my mind."
When asked another time by
Dueck if he had touched the children, he replied "not that
I can remember."
Dueck pressed the man by saying
he takes a statement like that to mean he can't remember what
he did.
The taped interview ran for
about an hour before Justice George Baynton adjourned court until
Monday. The playing of the tape will continue then.
The court case, which began
three weeks ago is nearing an end. The lawyer for 11 of the plaintiffs,
Robert Borden, said he and Richard Klassen, who is representing
himself, plan to finish their case on Tuesday. The lawyers for
the defendants told the court they will need about a week-and-a-half
to present their case.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Klassen details arrest
before packed courtroom
Jason
Warick, Saskatchewan News Network, September 25,
2003
The courtroom gallery was nearly
full to watch Richard Klassen testify Wednesday.
He and his relatives are seeking
more than $10 million from police, prosecutors, and a therapist
for malicious prosecution.
Klassen described the day he
and his wife, Kari, were arrested and charged with abusing their
brother's three foster children.
On July 10, 1991, two police
officers came to the door of their Red Deer home. Richard Klassen
thought the police were coming to speak to him about unpaid parking
tickets, so he hid upstairs.
Kari answered the door, and
the officers said they came to take both of them into custody.
Richard then came to the door,
and one officer said he was "the bearer of bad news."
The officers said they were arresting them for alleged sexual
assault.
One officer started to cry,
Richard Klassen testified, and the other told him to do his job.
Kari Klassen fell to the floor
in shock.
They were taken into custody,
and their children were taken to stay with relatives in Outlook.
Various other members of their family were also taken into custody
that day.
After five days in custody
in Red Deer, they were transported to Saskatoon.
They spent the night in Saskatoon
holding cells, and then appeared in court the next day.
Because of Richard Klassen's
prior criminal record, bail was set at $250 each, and they were
prohibited from contacting various family members.
Once released, they were shown
newspaper clippings with headlines such as " 'Scandal of
the century' feared."
The Klassens were not named,
but some of them realized word would soon spread anyway, Richard
Klassen testified.
The group were eventually committed
for trial, but charges against them were stayed after Richard
Klassen's father, Peter, pleaded guilty.
All three of the foster children,
Michael, Michelle, and Kathy Ross -- have testified this month
to lying about the allegations.
The lawsuit trial is expected
to last at least until the end of next week.
Richard Klassen continues on
the stand today. He is being questioned by Robert Borden, who
represents the other 11 plaintiffs.
The trial has drawn interest
from a number of different parties. On Wednesday various family,
friends, and neighbours of the various parties attended, as well
as a class of students with pens and notepads. Members of the
Stonechild family also came to see part of the testimony Wednesday.
The three foster children who
made the allegations were in the gallery, as they have been for
most of the trial.
One defendant, Saskatoon Police
Service Supt Brian Dueck, has sat through almost the entire trial.
None of the other defendants have attended, other than during
the opening remarks by the judge two weeks ago.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Neighbour
'terrified' by allegations: Plaintiffs' friend feared his children
had been molested
Shauna Rempel, The
StarPhoenix, September 20, 2003
A prominent businessperson
who had a close relationship with some of the people falsely
accused in a sexual abuse case became "terrified" his
children had been molested after learning of the allegations
against his friends, court heard Friday.
Louis Dupuis, co-owner of Prairie
Meats, and his family were close friends and neighbours with
people who are part of a $10-million malicious prosecution lawsuit
led by Richard Klassen and 11 other plaintiffs against police
officer Brian Dueck, Crown prosecutors and other justice officials.
From 1983 to 1987, the Dupuis
lived near the plaintiffs in the Pacific Heights area and "interacted
almost on a daily basis," he said, including playing cards
and taking fishing trips. The plaintiffs frequently baby-sat
Dupuis' three daughters. Over the years, Dupuis met several members
of the Klassen family and Dupuis hired Dale Klassen to paint
his store. Dupuis briefly met the Ross children as well, and
described them as "hell on wheels" because they were
so hyperactive.
Michael, Michelle and Kathy
Ross, who had been foster children of Dale and Anita Klassen,
claimed they were victims of bizarre ritual sex abuse while living
with the Klassens in the late 1980s. The children, now in their
early 20s, testified earlier that they lied about the allegations.
Michael was actually abusing his sisters repeatedly.
These false allegations, repeated
to Dueck and a therapist, led to charges against more than a
dozen people in a 1991 case known as the "scandal of the
century." The charges were stayed as part of a controversial
plea bargain that saw Dale Klassen's father, Peter, plead guilty.
During Dupuis' sometimes emotional
testimony, he related his family's relationship with some of
the plaintiffs, who cannot be named because it would identify
a plaintiff who was a youth at the time of the charges.
Dupuis told Robert Borden,
the lawyer representing 11 of the plaintiffs, that the first
he had heard about the allegations against his friends was when
he read a 1991 newspaper article detailing the case.
He said he had never heard
neighbours voice concern about the plaintiffs, nor had any social
workers or police officers ever asked him about the plaintiffs.
Dupuis became worried after
reading the article and called police demanding to get more information.
"It was imperative that
police tell me if there was a cause for concern," Dupuis
said.
Dupuis' daughters still occasionally
visited the plaintiffs because the two families still saw each
other socially, although the Dupuis family had moved from the
area.
At Dupuis' insistence, then-corporal
Dueck offered to interview his daughters, assuring Dupuis that
he would be able to tell if the girls had been abused in any
way.
"There's a lot of apprehension
and fear when you're dealing with this," Dupuis told the
court Friday. "I was terrified that it would be conclusive
that my children had been abused."
But Dupuis' apprehension turned
to anger after he watched Dueck interview his daughters.
"They were being asked
to point a finger at (the plaintiffs)," he said, calling
Dueck's interview techniques "ridiculous."
"I was angry beyond belief,"
Dupuis said, remembering. "Where was the skill and sophistication
that I'd been promised? It just wasn't there."
Court watched videotape of
the 1991 interviews on Friday. The girls, who were 11, 9, and
7 at the time, were interviewed separately and the interviews
appeared to be conducted by Dueck alone. Dueck asked each girl
if they knew about "places on the body that other people
shouldn't touch." The girls said they did.
He repeatedly asked each girl
if anyone in the plaintiff's household had touched them in a
bad way, and each girl repeatedly answered no without hesitation.
During the interviews, he offered
one girl as a gift an autographed picture of a Blades player
and another an autograph from a character in a colouring book.
Dupuis said he simply wanted
to know "100 per cent" that his daughters had not been
abused.
Dueck said after interviewing
the girls that he didn't think they had been abused but he advised
Dupuis to cut ties between the plaintiffs and his family.
Dupuis saw the plaintiffs over
the years, but told Borden they did not discuss the case or lawsuit.
Dale Klassen also testified
Friday. On the stand, he told Borden he had no knowledge of the
plea bargain his father Peter made, but on cross-examination
admitted to government lawyer Don McKillop that he had signed
a statement describing him and his brother's efforts to "encourage"
their father to plead guilty. Dale Klassen said he hadn't completely
read the statement before he signed it.
Borden submitted photographs
of a large scar on Dale Klassen's leg, which he explained was
a distinguishing mark that was never brought up during the police
investigation.
Testimony will resume on Tuesday,
when Dr. Joel Yelland, who examined the Ross children, will take
the stand.
Richard Klassen and his wife
are also expected to testify early next week.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
- Lack of recall remarkable
- The StarPhoenix
editorial
Friday, September 19, 2003
By any measure, the allegations
by at least three children that led to dozens of horrendous sex
abuse charges against 16 adults in 1991-92 in Saskatchewan were
bizarre enough to warrant the moniker "scandal of the century"
and stick in the minds of most persons.
Even though it took some time
for their testimony to become known -- it was proffered in a
courtroom closed to the public and media and arranged to prevent
the accused directly from facing the children -- it was of a
shocking nature rarely heard in a Canadian court. The horrors
the children claimed to have experienced or witnessed ranged
from being forced to have sex with the adults to engaging in
sex acts with bat-like creatures and eating eyeballs and drinking
blood to seeing human babies killed and eaten.
Among those charged were the
biological parents of the three children, along with the mother's
68-year-old boyfriend whom the kids called "grandpa."
While all three were found guilty, a StarPhoenix investigation
at the time that involved "grandpa" taking a lie detector
test raised serious doubts about the circumstances surrounding
the conviction. The man eventually was exonerated by the Supreme
Court, while the Crown didn't proceed with retrials ordered for
the parents.
Others charged in the case
came from foster families and others related to the families
in whose care the children were placed upon removal from the
parental home. The foster families weren't told of the children's
background and inherited a huge problem that included the eldest
child, a boy then 13, sexually abusing his twin 10-year-old female
siblings.
Of the 13 foster-family persons
charged, only one, a man with a previous record of abusing kids,
pleaded guilty to four charges in a plea bargain that saw charges
against the others stayed. The children have since admitted to
fabricating their story and 12 adults wrongly charged are suing
Justice officials for malicious prosecution.
Retired Crown prosecutor Terry
Hinz testified Thursday that he refused to take the case against
the foster family because the police work was incomplete but
that colleagues proceeded with it because of "political
pressure" from Regina to take it at least to a preliminary
inquiry.
While the lawsuit by the extended
foster family, the Klassens et al, is serving to jog the memory
of many Saskatchewan residents who'd read or heard details involving
the original charges, it appears that this group doesn't include
the person whose job it was to supervise Saskatchewan's Crown
prosecutors at the time.
Ellen Gunn, now a justice of
the Court of Queen's Bench, made an unusual appearance in the
witness box and testified that she has no memory about the sex
abuse case when she was questioned by Richard Klassen, who is
representing himself in the lawsuit.
Coming from someone whose current
position as a senior court justice of more than 11 years and
whose former position as executive director of provincial prosecutions
attest to her substantial intellectual capabilities, the total
lack of recall about this case seems odd.
She doesn't remember seeing
the file in 1991 in a high-profile case that featured, among
other things, child sex abuse allegations involving about 36
adults (20 persons implicated by the children weren't charged),
that suggested satanic ritual abuse and that involved allegations
of dozens of horrific acts of degradation visited upon children.
Time and again, she told Klassen
she couldn't recall details of two conversations she had with
Crown prosecutor Matt Miazga about the case, beyond her cryptic
notes that were limited to: "re: sex abuse charges -- foster
parents."
"I have no memory of the
conversations which led to those notes being made, and I have
no other memory of having any information about the case."
It wasn't clear whether the
person responsible for directing Crown prosecutors at the time
couldn't recall the details because she had forgotten what Miazga
told her or whether it was because she'd left the call on prosecution
entirely up to him and delved no deeper than to ascertain he
was making a plea bargain in a case that involved sex abuse charges
against foster parents.
Meanwhile, just a stone's throw
away, a parade of witnesses ranging from a grieving mother to
a man with alcohol abuse problems to medical professionals and
others are having far less difficulty giving detailed accounts
of events surrounding the freezing death of a Native youth 13
years ago.
Odd thing about memory, huh?
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Sex
case likened to witch trials: Prosecutor thought case too weak
to proceed
Jason Warick. Saskatchewan
News Network, September 19, 2003
The Saskatoon Crown prosecutor
first handed the Klassen sex abuse file more than a decade ago
compared the children's claims to the complaints made during
the Salem witchcraft trials.
"I was completely floored
when I read the documents," prosecutor Terry Hinz testified
Thursday at the malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by 12 people
charged with ritual abuse of several foster children.
"It made me feel I was
transported back into the 17th century reading about the Salem
witchcraft complaints."
The children detailed stories
of baby killings, drinking blood and eating eyeballs, Hinz said,
who reviewed the file in the early months of 1991.
"I had a file with inconsistencies,
bizarre allegations and no corroboration," he said.
Hinz had read the file over
the weekend at home. The following week, he gave the file back
to Saskatoon police Cpl. Brian Dueck, who had interviewed the
children and compiled the file.
Hinz said he told Dueck, "Where
are the bodies? Find me the bodies."
He said Dueck replied that
"these cultists are too clever" and would have long
ago disposed of the bodies of the babies.
Hinz recalls asking Dueck if
he would go through various records to see if any neighbourhood
children had died or gone missing.
Dueck told Hinz that people
like this work with "brood mares" -- women who breed
children specifically to sacrifice them. These children are never
registered with any agencies and are impossible to trace, Hinz
told the court.
Hinz said he couldn't prosecute
without more information. The conversation ended cordially, and
Hinz never talked to Dueck about the case again.
In July of 1991, Hinz was at
the courthouse on another matter, and heard that the Klassens
and their relatives had been charged with more than 70 counts
of sexual assault, incest, and gross indecency.
Hinz went into the court office
and looked at the file to see if there was any new information,
but there wasn't, he said.
"There was really nothing
new in there," Hinz said.
Hinz, who retired last year
after 25 years as a prosecutor, said the ritual sacrifice allegations
"coloured" all the other allegations, calling the entire
case into question.
The prosecution went ahead,
led by prosecutors Matt Miazga and Sonia Hansen.
The Klassens and their relatives
were committed to stand trial. On the eve of the trial in 1993,
a controversial plea bargain was reached.
Peter Klassen pleaded guilty
to one count of sexual assault in exchange for staying the remaining
charges.
The case began when three children,
Michael, Michelle and Kathy Ross, began to fabricate fantastic
stories of ritual abuse against their former foster parents,
Anita and Dale Klassen, and 14 other adults.
The Ross children were living
with a new foster family, the Thompsons, at the time that many
of the allegations were recorded by foster mother Marilyn Thompson.
Dueck and therapist Carol Bunko-Ruys
questioned the children and the adults extensively.
The children have all since
admitted to lying, including the allegation about Peter Klassen.
Twelve of those charged are
now suing Dueck, Bunko-Ruys and prosecutors for $10 million,
alleging malicious prosecution.
During the lawsuit's pretrial
questioning known as "examinations for discovery,"
Dueck's lawyer, David Gerrand, successfully argued that Hinz
would not be able to testify about any conversations he had with
Dueck.
Justice Mona Dovell agreed
that these conversations were covered by the solicitor-client
confidentiality rule.
Richard Klassen was prepared
to argue this point again at the trial, but Gerrand stood and
told court last week that they have removed their objections.
That cleared the way for Hinz
to answer any queries about his involvement with Dueck.
Under cross-examination by
Gerrand, Hinz was shown to have confused details about a previous
case involving Peter Klassen.
"And that's one of the
firm recollections you have?" asked Gerrand.
Hinz also said he had no doubts
about the integrity of Dueck, Miazga or Hanson.
Also Thursday, there were some
emotional moments when Richard Klassen questioned his niece,
Jackie Klassen.
Jackie, now 21 years old, recounted
being questioned at her elementary school by police and a social
worker about abuse. She denied ever being abused or seeing her
parents abuse anyone.
She and her brother were taken
for medical examinations.
She was again questioned about
the same matters after the family moved to Red Deer, and was
taken "kicking and screaming" to the doctor for another
medical exam.
When she began to discuss being
taken from her parents and placed in foster care, both she and
Richard Klassen broke down and a five-minute recess was called.
The third Ross sibling, Kathy,
finished her testimony Thursday afternoon.
Like her brother and sister,
she admitted to lying about being abused by the Klassens and
their extended family members.
The case is expected to run
at least another week.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Judge
says she has no memory of Klassen case
Jason Warick, Senior Reporter,
Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News Service, Thursday, September
18, 2003
SASKATOON -- Court of Queen's
Bench Justice Ellen Gunn testified Wednesday she had absolutely
"no memory" of the Klassen child sex abuse case of
the early-1990s, even though she was Saskatchewan's director
of public prosecutions at the time of the charges.
Gunn, wearing business attire,
spoke clearly and deliberately while on the stand Wednesday at
the malicious prosecution lawsuit trial filed by 12 of the people
wrongly accused of child abuse.
It's rare to see a current
Queen's Bench justice sitting in the witness box. It's particularly
unique because Gunn was questioned by a man with just a Grade
7 education, self-represented plaintiff Richard Klassen.
Gunn told Klassen she was the
supervisor of the province's Crown prosecutors when the charges
were laid in July 1991. Charges included more than 70 counts
of incest, gross indecency, and sexual assault against Klassen
and 15 others.
The case was dubbed "scandal
of the century" at the time and garnered much media attention.
She stayed on as executive
director until being called to serve as a Queen's Bench justice
in December of that year.
Gunn testified Wednesday she
remembers nothing about the case.
She said she doesn't remember
if she saw the case file in 1991 and doesn't remember what was
said in two phone conversations she had with prosecutor Matt
Miazga about the case that year.
In her notes made at the time,
Gunn writes she had two phone conversations with Miazga "re:
sex abuse charges -- foster parents."
But her notes don't contain
any further information about their conversation.
"The only information
that I can tell you, Mr. Klassen, are the notes that I have referred
you to," Gunn said.
"I have no memory of the
conversations which led to those notes being made, and I have
no other memory of having any information about this case."
She repeated this statement
in slightly varied ways several times, and was on the stand for
approximately 15 minutes in total.
The case began in 1990 when
siblings Michelle, Kathy and Michael Ross made horrific accusations
against their foster family -- the Klassens -- and a number of
other adults. The allegations included stories of animal mutilations,
baby killings and graphic descriptions of sex parties involving
adults and children.
As a result of their accusations,
the Ross's foster parents, Dale and Anita Klassen, were charged,
as well as many of their relatives and the children's birth parents.
Most of the charges against
them were eventually stayed in exchange for a guilty plea from
Dale and Richard Klassen's father, Peter.
The children admitted in recent
years and again in testimony this week that they lied, and that
none of the Klassens ever abused them.
Twelve of the adults are now
suing prosecutors, police, and therapists involved with the case
for $10 million, alleging malicious prosecution. Gunn is not
named in the suit.
© Copyright 2003 The Leader-Post (Regina)
Ross admits 'telling
lies'
Jason Warick, Senior Reporter,
Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post, Tuesday, September
16, 2003
The boy who made up fantastic
stories of ritual sexual abuse against his former foster parents
admitted in court Monday that he lied because he was mad at them.
"I was angry. That's why
I started telling stories and stuff," Michael Ross testified
Monday during the malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by 12 adults
once charged with sexually assaulting children.
Their charges were later dropped.
Their $10-million lawsuit against
a Saskatoon police officer, a therapist, and various Justice
Department officials is into its second week.
Michael Ross, now in his mid-20s,
continues his testimony today.
Dale and Anita Klassen cared
for Michael for three years beginning when he was eight years
old, as well as for his younger twin sisters, Kathy and Michelle.
He was removed from the Klassen
home because he was abusing his sisters and misbehaving in various
other ways, court heard last week.
Michael was placed in the Warman
home of Marilyn and Lyle Thompson.
"I was feeling abandoned
by (the Klassens). I didn't know what was going on," he
said.
"I didn't like that at
all. I thought a family was supposed to stick together."
Shortly after arriving at his
new home, Michael began telling the Thompsons about the "satanic
ritual stuff" the Klassens and their relatives were doing
to him.
The horrific allegations included
the murder of animals and babies, and graphic descriptions of
sex parties involving adults and children.
Michael also said his sisters
were being abused by the Klassens. Shortly after making these
allegations, the girls were removed from the Klassen home.
They were reunited with Michael
in the Thompson household, and he continued to abuse them for
three more years.
"I wanted them to come
live with me (so) I said I felt they were unsafe at the Klassens',"
Michael testified.
"I didn't care who I hurt."
Michael testified that he was
a victim of abuse, but not by the Klassens or anyone involved
in the lawsuit.
His birth father abused him,
he said. The Ross parents were alcoholics and often fought violently.
One day, Michael said his sister found him under his parents'
bed bleeding from the bum.
"That's when I started
abusing my sisters. That carried on for many years," Michael
said.
Michael's birth parents were
convicted of sexual assault, but the convictions were overturned
by the Supreme Court of Canada.
For the first four hours Monday,
several 1990 videotaped interviews of Michael were played for
the court.
An 11-year-old Michael fidgets
almost constantly and puts his face against the camera several
times.
"I'll tell you everything!"
he declares at the start of the session with Saskatoon Police
Service Cpl. Brian Dueck and therapist Carol Bunko-Ruys.
Just like Michelle Ross did
in the video interviews played last week in court, Michael uses
dolls, knives, and other props to demonstrate the various allegations.
Near the beginning of the second
video, Bunko-Ruys asks Michael why he is so tired, and what he
was doing the previous night.
"Me and Michelle were
s-c-r-e-w-i-n-g," said Michael, spelling out the last word.
Bunko-Ruys says only that Michael
will have to deal with his "touching problem.
"What did we say about
touching Michelle?" Bunko-Ruys asks.
Michael says he's trying to
stop, but it's hard. When this video was made, Michael had been
reunited with Michelle and Kathy at the Thompson home.
Michael tells them he's trying
to be a better person.
"I have a little devil
here. The angel is getting bigger and the devil's getting smaller,"
he says.
Dueck congratulates Michael
for being "brave" enough to talk about the alleged
abuse, and for saving his sisters.
Michelle Ross testified last
week she felt safe at the Klassens' home after Michael left,
and didn't want to be placed in the same home as Michael again.
She said he would cover her
mouth so she wouldn't scream and then assault her on many different
occasions.
The trial is expected to run
at least two more weeks.
Following this trial will be
a countersuit for libel against plaintiff Richard Klassen, filed
by Dueck, Bunko-Ruys, and the other defendants.
© Copyright 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd.