original newstories from the time | From letter to Judge Bayda regarding Klassen's defamation | Reports on civil claim | Dueck walks |

This was passed on to Mike Grisdale in Morality. It was hand delivered to the Saskatoon Police Service four months before Dueck ordered our arrests for defaming him and we were released on an undertaking preventing us from writing, speaking or demonstrating, adding the denial of citizens' fundamental Charter Rights to his list of Crimes.

It is also on Dueck's "Statement as to Documents" in civil suit 271(94)

Richard Allen Klassen

41 Glenwood Avenue

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Canada

S7L 4A7

(Telephone and telecopier numbers)

April 19, 1994

_______________________

 

Saskatoon Police Complaints Investigator

#360-2151 Scarth Street

Regina, Saskatchewan

S4P 3Z3

 

Dear Police Investigators,

 

Re: Criminal Negligence of Sergeant Brian Dueck (Saskatoon City Police Officer)

1. What you are about to read is a true account of the events which led to my conclusions that the above police officer is the indeed guilty of allowing an eight year old child witness to be submitted to countless acts of sexual violence. My evidence I believe is more than sufficient to have criminal charges laid against this said officer, and I hope that someone in your office will look carefully into this matter and get back to me.

2. On a Friday in March or April of 1991, while living in Red Deer, Alberta, I was contacted by telephone by Cpl. Brian Dueck. He asked if I would voluntarily come to Saskatoon to be interviewed by the police because allegations of sexual abuse had been made against me by Michael, Michelle and Kathy Ross. These were children whom I had met fewer than eight times while visiting family. They were for two and a half years in the foster care of my brother Dale, and my sister-in-law Anita in Saskatoon (Michael was removed from their house after two years). I agreed to be interviewed and Cpl. Dueck said he would phone me again to make further arrangements. He said he would arrange the interview for a week-end so that it would not interfere with my work. I fully expected him to contact me within ten days to two weeks. 

3. On the Friday of the telephone call I drove to Saskatoon and arranged legal counsel with Darrell LaBach of LaBach, Albright and Co. I met with him on Sunday. He advised me to tell Dueck, when and if he called back, that if I was being arrested, to go ahead and do that, but that there would be no need to come and get me, I would come in voluntarily. He also advised me to give no statement. 

4. I next heard from Cpl. Dueck when he arrived at my door in Red Deer on June 25, 1991, at 3.30 p.m. He told me I was being detained for the purpose of questioning and I was not being put under arrest, that I would be questioned at the Red Deer police station and would immediately be brought home. Even though I had spoken to Darrel LaBauche two months earlier, I agreed to go with Sgt. Dueck I was in shock and believed I was under arrest. I also knew myself to be innocent and consented to a forty-five minute interview. Throughout the interview I requested legal counsel but these requests were ignored or sidestepped.

5. A large part of the interview consisted of Cpl. Dueck making allegations against my father. I was defensive of my father. Dueck had also said that the three children had given independent, corroborating stories. I had no way of knowing what was going on. Dueck said all three children claimed I had sexual relations with them. This offended me deeply and affected my state of mind during the interview. After the interview, Dueck took me home. This was the last time I ever spoke to him or saw him regarding this case.

6. On July 10, 1991, I was arrested under an interprovincial RCMP warrant and detained for six days. Fifteen other people were arrested at exactly the same time. I was remanded by a Justice of the Peace until July 16 at which time I was transferred to Saskatoon, appeared before a magistrate and was released on $250 cash bail with the stipulation that I have no further contact with my mother, my father, my sister and my sister-in-law's sister and her husband who all reside in Saskatoon. During this time I still thought that there had been a terrible misunderstanding, that the police had given me true information, and that it was only a matter of time until the truth came out and I would be exonerated.

7. Before the preliminary hearing, I became suspicious that perhaps Michael had been abusing his sisters and that he protected himself by accusing us. My brother Dale had told me that he and Anita had Michael removed from their foster care in December, 1989 because he had been sexually acting out with Kathy, and Michelle, and other children in the neighbourhood and at school. This was all that I knew.

8. At the preliminary hearing which began Dec. 2, 1991 and continued until January, 1992 I heard more information which added to my suspicions. I learned that as far back as February 1987, The MacNeill Clinic and the police had known that Michael had attempted to insert a butter knife and liquid soap into Kathy's vagina, that in September, 1987 Michael had again been found by the police to have placed objects in Kathy's vagina, that Michael had pushed Kathy in front of a moving car, that he had set a car on fire using gasoline, that he had, on several occasions, been sent home from school for sexually attacking other children, and Dale and Anita had demanded Michael be removed from their home after they found him with a knife in his hand by their newborn. During the Ross trial I met Marjaleena Repo.

9. We were scheduled to go to trial February 15, 1992. In preparation for this we had given up our houses for the end of January, packed our belongings in U-hauls, paid deposits on accommodation in Saskatoon and were prepared to leave. The day we were set to move, January 26, we received a call from Darrel LeBache informing us that all our charges were going to be stayed and that we were to cancel our moving plans.

10. On February 8, 1992 the charges against me were stayed and I began collecting any material I could find about the case. I wanted to know more about how these events which had ruined my life had come about. I travelled between Saskatoon and Red Deer, placing great strain on my financial resources and family life.

11. On March 29, 1993 Judge D.K. MacPherson ordered all evidence pertaining to this case permanently sealed.

12. In June, 1993, I learned of the existance of disclosure material including videotapes. I obtained my own copies of the tapes, transcripts and reports from Darryl LaBach who gave them to me after I signed a paper absolving him of any damage which might be done by giving me the disclosure material.

13. In September, 1993, I moved my family from Red Deer to Saskatoon so I could be closer to the sources of information I needed and take part in whatever actions seemed necessary to unravel this case.

14. As I worked my way through the volumes of material, I realized that Cpl. Dueck (in fact he was promoted to the rank of Sgt. at some time during this period) was not as he had presented himself to me when he interviewed me in Red Deer. Indeed, I believed that he had broken the law, both in letter and in spirit. While he claimed to have the interests of the Ross children at heart, and was claiming to be tracking down their abusers, he had allowed Michael's sexual tyranny of Kathy and Michelle to continue after he was aware that it was going on. He claimed the children's testimony about me was damaging when in fact it was not. In the videotaped interview by Dueck of my sister-in-law Anita, he told her that nine children alleged she had abused them, disregarded her requests for legal counsel and cruelly used personal and sensitive information about her own past against her.

15. Furthermore, through reading Marilyn Thompson's notes, and the transcripts, it became clear to me that Kathy Ross was in need of help and protection from her brother Michael who was now 14 years old. I felt action was called for.

16. On September 18, 1993 I began by picketing the MacNeill Clinic with a sign asking that state-sponsored sex offenses be stopped. 

17. On September 20 , 1993 I wrote to City Council bringing to their attention that I felt myself to be a victim of malicious prosecution on the part of the police. Next, we picketed the provincial Courthouse where our preliminary hearing had been held and carried our signs to the police station. Meanwhile, Kathy Ross continued to live in the same home with her brother Michael.

19. On September 22, 1993, my wife Kari and I picketed in front of Queen's Bench Courthouse. The Sheriff came and told us that we were to appear before Judge Wimmer on possible charges of contempt. Judge Wimmer then told us to appear before him in two days to face possible charges of contempt. On September 24, I appeared before Judge Wimmer. I spoke to the Court and presented a written answer to allegations of contempt of court. No charges were laid.

20. On October 6, 1993, City Council replied to my letter that they had referred my information to the Police Commission for further action. To this date, there has been no action that I know of. Meanwhile, Kathy continued to be living in the same home with her brother Michael.

21. In November, 1993, I went to the police station with at least one thousand pages of evidence. The officer at the front desk refused even to look at any of the material and asked us to leave.

22. In November, 1993. I wrote a letter to the RCMP in Warman asking them to remove Michael from the Thompson home (for the protection of Kathy) or I would make facts about his history available to the community of Warmen. Michael was indeed removed within ten days as I had asked. I made some effort to find out where he was and was told that he was on a ranch somewhere.

23. I began faxing this material to lawyers, judges and anyone within the legal community who was in a position to do something about this situation. Meanwhile, Kathy Ross continued to live in the same home with her brother Michael.

24. In April, 1993, I attended a meeting of the Special Committee on Sexual Abuse of Children, an organization which was established in 1985 and which determines the protocol for handling sexual abuse cases. I received a copy of their 1991 handbook. The handbook defines sexual abuse as "any exploitation of a child, whether consensual of not, for the sexual gratification of a person who is clearly taking advantage of a significantly younger child." It further quotes Section 12(3) of the Child and Family Services Act, Province of Saskatchewan under the heading, DUTY to Report: "Every person having information that a child is in need of protection shall report the information to an officer (Child Protection Officer of the Department of Social Services) OR peace officer (Police officer)". Throughout the document , the safety of children is cited as the overriding concern. Six years ago, when Michael was nine years old, he was already known to be highly sexualized and dangerous. Six years ago, it was known that he was sexually exploiting his younger sisters. According to their own protocol, the overriding concern should have been to get treatment for Michael and safety for Kathy and Michelle. Instead, the professionals in charge chose to allow the situation to deteriorate to the point where Michelle joined Kathy in victimizing Kathy while all took notes and repeatedly interrogated the children in order to prepare a vicious prosecution of adults who either had only the best interests of these children at heart or were only peripherally involved with the children. 

25. For the past year or so, as I have tried to get to the bottom of this case I have seen my father jailed and nine other members of my family and their children impoverished. I have dealt with the falling away of acquaintances who are rightfully suspicious of people charged with sex crimes. I have sought legal redress. Along with other members of my family I have launched a civil suit. Throughout the process I have been careful and respectful with the information in my hands and the people with whom I am in contact. I have verified my facts. I have respected the judiciary system even when faced with the moral dilemma of weighing the public's right to know against a judge's order that evidence be sealed. 

I would be willing to suspend my procedures if I could be assured that the Province are investigating my specific allegations and are prepared to answer the questions which I have been raising.

Furthermore I will continue to take whatever actions I feel necessary to see that Kathleen Jessica Ross is no longer at risk and the persons who put her at risk are brought to justice.

yours truly,

Richard A. Klassen

25 On August 23 and 24, 1994, a group of eleven people, including me, Rob Klassen and Sheila Steele picketed the Courthouses, provincial government building and police station to protest the whitewashing of the Saskatchewan Justice Department in the David Milgaard case. The three of us carried signs directed at Sgt. Brian Dueck and social worker Carol Bunko-Ruys. On August 24, while picketing in front of the Saskatoon police station, the three of us were arrested and each charged with four counts of defamatory libel.

26 Throughout the fall of 1994, the three of us were continually and relentlessly harassed by members of Sgt. Dueck's platoon. There were blatant attempts to tie Rob and me in with Steele's narcotics charges. There was also (and still may be) an effort to charge me with having sexually assaulted, when I was ten, a now convicted murderer who had once been fostered by my grandmother.  (see the Beryl Stonechild story.)

Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd.
William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell

Truth suppress'd, whether by courts or crooks, will find an avenue to be told. Sheila Steele, injusticebusters.com

---

Publisher Sheila Steele

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Another target of Dueck's malice:

Wilf Hathway

Our activism contributed greatly to the good vibes which happened around the civil trial.

Please participate by posting your own photos and links of activism in your community.


Index to the stories on this website

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Index to Saskatoon Police stories

This is a pretty good scrapbook for the 1998-2002 period.

 

 

"Expert" testimony

Reid Technique

Monique Turenne

James Driskell

 

Edmonton police

Halifax

Toronto police

Vancouver police

Winnipeg police

 

2005: In the United States the proven wrongful convictions just keep coming at us!

Canadians who have been wrongfully convicted because of improper investigations combined with zealous Crown

Robert Baltovich

Michael Burns

Sebastian Burns

Wilbert Coffin (hanged, 1953)

Jason Dix

Jim Driskell

Jody Druken

Randy Druken

Michel Dumont

Peter Frumusa

Walter Gillespie and Robert Mailman

Clayton Johnson

Yvonne Johnson

Herman Kaglik

Kulaveeringsam "Kulam" Karthiresu

Stephen Leadbeater

Donald Marshall

Chris McCullough

Michael McTaggart

Felix Michaud

David Milgaard

Guy Paul Morin

Shannon Murrin

Jamie Nelson

Greg Parsons

Benoit Proulx

Atif Rafay

Louise Reynolds

Thomas Sophonow

Gary Staples

Steven Truscott

Joe Warren

Leon Walchuk

 

AIDWYC

Innocence Project (Canada)

Innocence Project (U.S.)

Northwest Law Center on Wrongful Convictions

 

Jailhouse snitches

Prosecutors

Seven deadly sins of prosecutors

 

More U.S. wrongful convictions:

Peter Rose

Clifford St. Joseph

John Stoll

Ludrate Burton

Albert Johnson

Stephen Cowans

Laurence Adams

Peter Reilly

Marty Tankleff |