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QB 271 Pre
civil trial
Crown lawyer had doubts
about cult abuse charges: sources
Jason Warick Saskatchewan
News Network, November 06, 2002
The senior Crown prosecutor
handling a satanic cult abuse case in 1991 refused to lay charges,
but other officials proceeded anyway, sources say.
Cpl. Brian Dueck of the Saskatoon
Police Service investigated bizarre allegations of orgies, ritual
abuse and bestiality made by three Saskatoon-area foster children.
He brought his findings to
senior Crown prosecutor Terry Hinz. A group of 13 people, including
Richard and Kari Klassen, were accused of making the children
eat feces, drink blood and urine, and forcing them to have sex
with bats and dogs.
But Hinz refused to agree to
charging the adults, according to the sources.
The file was then taken over
by Crown prosecutors Sonja Hansen and Matthew Miazga. Thirteen
people were rounded up in the summer of 1991 and charged.
Klassen's father, who had a
previous criminal conviction for abusing children, agreed to
a contentious plea bargain on the eve of the trial -- he pleaded
guilty and the charges were stayed against the others. All three
foster children have since admitted to lying about the abuse.
Twelve of the group charged
in the bizarre case have filed a $10-million lawsuit for malicious
prosecution. Klassen and lawyers for the other plaintiffs have
begun closed-door questioning of the defendants and potential
witnesses as part of a pre-trial process called examinations
for discovery.
Hinz is now willing to state
how he handled the file when it was assigned to him, according
to the sources. One motion filed by Klassen seeks to compel Hinz
to appear for the pre-trial questioning.
Another motion seeks to have
Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn appear as well. Gunn was director
of prosecutions for the provincial Justice Department in 1991
when Klassen and the others were charged.
A third motion seeks to compel
Dueck, now a superintendent with the police department, to answer
certain questions he refused to during earlier questioning.
Any documents filed in support
of the requests to have Hinz, Gunn and Dueck appear for questioning
were put under a sweeping publication ban last Friday by Queen's
Bench Justice Mona Dovell, the judge overseeing the lawsuit.
A University of Saskatchewan
law professor called the action "highly unusual," while
Klassen says it's "so frustrating it's eating me alive."
Some of the motions and other
materials in the case had already been available to members of
the public for several weeks at the courthouse.
However, Dovell learned a story
was about to be published last Friday when The StarPhoenix
requested a public document in her office.
Dovell called all of the lawyers
in the case together just after 5 p.m. that day for a conference
call, then she ordered sealed "all materials filed in support
of any motion made either before or after this date regarding
the discovery process."
Klassen and Robert Borden,
the lawyer for the other plaintiffs, said they weren't in favour
of a blanket ban.
In her order, Dovell states
that "it was known that a reporter from The StarPhoenix
had in his possession a sworn statement of Richard Klassen, which
contained paraphrased portions of what Crown prosecutor Hansen
had said.
"That information has
now been sealed by the court."
The statements by Hansen that
are now banned were made during an examination for discovery.
Under court rules, the information gleaned from the questioning
is kept secret until trial.
However, because some of that
information was also contained in a public document on the court
file -- Klassen's sworn statement -- The StarPhoenix had
been about to publish a story, until Dovell issued her ban.
The motions filed on the case
can still be published, although details about why the motions
are being made cannot be printed.
Dovell ruled this week that
Dueck will have to answer some of the questions he earlier refused
to answer. She is expected to rule soon on the other matters.
Dovell's order to seal the
documents Friday night does not sit well with Klassen.
"We're not opposed to
the rules of court (but) this was filed legally. The public has
the right to know," Klassen said. "What's the next
step? How far will this go?"
U of S law Prof. Russ Buglass
said Dovell's decision to seal public documents was "highly
unusual."
Buglass said it's also unusual
that The StarPhoenix was not given a chance to make an
argument in favour of freedom of expression. Buglass and civil
litigation lawyer Andrew Mason said public documents are sealed
only when the judge mistakenly allows them to be public in the
first place.
"It may have been an oversight.
It says to me there was probably a mistake," Mason said.
It's unclear whether any of
the specifics of this case will ever become public. Buglass noted
that "much more than half" of all lawsuits are settled
before trial, and the files are usually sealed as part of the
agreement.
Dueck's lawyer, David Gerrand,
said it would be inappropriate to comment while the matter is
before the courts.
In an interview Friday before
the order was issued, Don McKillop, who represents the prosecutors
and other defendants, cautioned against publishing the material
which is now sealed.
He said the "snippets"
of information in the documents would give an incomplete picture
of the case.
"There is the potential
to keep an old wound open or open wounds and not particularly
do anybody any good," he said.
© Copyright 2002 The
StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Injusticebusters has learned that The StarPhoenix had was already
40 or 50,000 copies into its press run when it received its order
to stay far away from the sealed material. It stopped the presses
but went ahead with the feature story, Klassens
await their day in court. injusticebusters has seen the contentious paragraphs which it
would also be in the interest of the public to see. After receiving
legal clarification, The
StarPhoenix published the above story today (five days later).
The chill which government
lawyers have put around discussion of this case is probably what
has driven El Nina away. We are pleased that Jason Warick is
insisting on getting the story out to the public. We hope the
StarPhoenix lawyers will err on the side of the public interest
to know the facts of this case rather than be chilled by government
and police lawyers who keep threateneing to sue.
Almost three years ago,
City Solicitor Theresa Dust defended
gag orders by saying it would be misleading for the story to
come out in bits and pieces or, as Don McKillop says today, "snippets.".
This is bogus. If the media was allowed to tell the story, it
could use forthright language, name its sources and we would
get a more relaxed attitude toward what has become a legal farce.
The truth is that they are
embarrassed the public is finally learning that they knowingly
allowed children to be brutally and repeatedly sexually assaulted
in Saskatoon and Warman. That they are continuing to insinuate
that any of the adults involved in Q.B. 271 (1993) are guilty
compounds their criminality.
We repeat, not even the
court has the authority to seal evidence of crimes.
Why
we broke the publication ban | The story with
links to very large bits and pieces which anyone could put together
and get a fair gist | The
media's involvement | Holgate dumps Klassen
Klassen weathers latest
gov't challenge to lawsuit: Province's bid to halt case denied
by judge, who says it's 'imperative' matter proceed
Jason Warick, StarPhoenix,
June 27, 2002
Richard Klassen wept and hugged
supporters in court Wednesday afternoon after he thwarted a third
attempt by government and others to stop his multi-million-dollar
lawsuit against them.
Klassen, acting as his own
lawyer, is suing police, prosecutors, and other officials, claiming
they maliciously prosecuted him in a ritual child sexual abuse
case in the early 1990s.
The case, dubbed "Scandal
of the Century" at the time, revolved around false abuse
allegations from three children against Klassen and about a dozen
other adults.
The children have all publicly
admitted to lying. Klassen and most of the others have sued,
but the case has moved slowly.
On Wednesday, Justice Department
lawyer Don McKillop and private lawyer David Gerrand applied
on behalf of their clients to have Klassen removed from the lawsuit.
They argued Klassen violated rules requiring him to keep secret
the documents that the defendants have turned over during the
course of the lawsuit.
McKillop and Gerrand argued
that two people gave out pamphlets containing confidential information,
and Klassen was a party to it. They have videotape, taken by
police, which shows Klassen giving the two people a ride to the
courthouse.
The lawyers noted Klassen lit
a cigarette for the woman sitting in his vehicle, further proof
of his involvement with them.
McKillop and Gerrand admitted
they had no direct evidence Klassen distributed any of the information,
but they asked the judge to "draw the inference" that
he was a party to it.
"Mr. Klassen is simply
thumbing his nose at the court and at my clients," McKillop
said.
Klassen successfully argued
that there is no proof connecting him to the distribution of
any information.
"I cannot control what
others do. There's no doubt I want to disseminate (the information),
but I didn't," Klassen said.
Justice Mona Dovell said Klassen
will remain on the lawsuit, as there is no clear reason to remove
him.
"This indeed is an unfortunate
case," Dovell said. "I am not prepared to strike the
claim on the evidence before me."
She encouraged Klassen to distance
himself from anyone involved in giving out confidential documents,
and she said it's "imperative that this matter proceed."
Neither McKillop nor Gerrand
would comment specifically on the case.
The provincial government and
other parties agreed to pay a settlement of $1.3 million earlier
this month to former Saskatoon police officer John Popowich.
Popowich was wrongly accused
of child ritual abuse in the botched Martensville sexual abuse
case.
Klassen and some others involved
in his case say their lawsuit is similar to those launched by
the Martensville accused and they should also be entitled to
a settlement.
However, McKillop said he has
received no instructions from government to change his approach
to the Klassen matter.
His only consideration is taking
the most cost-effective route. If there is a "risk of an
adverse judgement," the government is more likely to settle,
he said.
Other considerations, such
as doing the right thing, are likely handled by the politicians,
he said.
People wrongly
accused of ritual child abuse get trial date for lawsuit
Jason Warick
Saskatchewan News Network, September 23, 2002
A trial date
has been set in the lawsuit brought by 12 people wrongly accused
of ritual child abuse in Saskatoon more than a decade ago.
"It comes
as a relief. There has been a cloud over the plaintiffs,"
said Saskatoon lawyer Robert Borden, who represents most of them.
"The public
will know (what happened) and draw their own conclusions."
The pretrial
hearing is scheduled for May 1 and 2 in Saskatoon. The trial
will begin Sept. 8, and two months have been set aside.
Richard Klassen,
the only plaintiff defending himself, is also glad the date has
been set.
Klassen has
immersed himself in the lawsuit for the past several years, and
is "100 per cent certain" that they will win.
"Let's
get this thing to court. We're progressing at a very rapid pace
now," he said.
Klassen and
the other plaintiffs were charged in the early-1990s with abusing
three children. The children fabricated horrible stories of abuse
and devil worship to officials.
Almost all
of the charges were later dropped, but the plaintiffs say their
lives were ruined by the false label of child abuser.
The children
have all publicly admitted to lying, but Klassen has always maintained
there was never any evidence to justify charges in the first
place.
Now Klassen
and Borden's lawsuit against police, prosecutors, social workers
and others is going to trial.
"We were
never guilty (but) we were never vindicated," Klassen said.
Klassen said
he'll be examining all options, including the possibility of
a settlement. But Klassen and Borden both said the most important
thing is for the truth to come out.
"We want
to find out how this could have happened. We also need to show
the public that we were right," Klassen said.
"We must
be constantly vigilant that this never happens again," Borden
said.
In the meantime,
Borden and Klassen are in the process of compiling the documents,
testimony, and other information to make their case.
© Copyright
2002 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell