Cole will soon complete his time on house arrest. He will be serving his community hours at various agencies in the city where he has access to lots more prey and can run more cons, based on his proclaimed change of heart. Watch out for him!

May, 2000: Gordon Cole, serial molester of Saskatchewan boys, was sentenced to two years less a day to be served in the community after pleading guilty to charges he molested Richard Klassen and Donald Scott. The court also heard that Cole had confessed to many more. injusticebusters is encouraging anyone who knows of Cole's other victims to come forward. He claimed to have stopped molesting in 1982! injusticebusters believe he is lying.

During the early seventies, for several years, Rev. Gordon Cole, (seen above leaving the provincial courthouse with his lawyer), a person who had already been convicted of sexually molesting boys, set up a ministry called Love Covenant Community of Praise. He received clients from the Saskatchewan Department of Social Services. His clientele consisted mainly of severely mentally and/or physically handicapped people of all ages. He operated a house for males and a house for females.  

More than two years after a formal complaint was laid, this unrepentant pedophile is being brought to justice. A ridiculous gag order was placed on the proceedings. (As Steele was leaving the court room following Klassen's prelim, the court clerk called after her, Sheila, you know the publication ban extends to the internet.)

The public's need to be warned and protected from Cole is more important then any privacy issues concerning Cole. Many of his victims were helpless handicapped people who have, perhaps been fearful to come forward and have lived their already compromised lives with the confusion of having been regularly molested by Cole. We published a report right away and no action was taken. Contemptible orders must be held in contempt!

Cole is still on the street. For defense counsel at the preliminary hearing he had Roger Kergoat who took it upon himself to smear Klassen (left), using information from an unrelated trial regarding Klassen's father.

On June 28, 2000, Cole came to court with a new lawyer, Kwok, and pled guilty to molesting Richard Klassen (left) and Donald Scott, (right) another victim who came forward at the last minute. These molestations took place a decade apart. Both Klassen and Scott asked that the publication ban be lifted regarding their stories to allow them to pursue justice as publicly or privately as they might choose. Prosecutor Dan Dahl cooperatively placed the requests before the judge who granted them.

A third victim, Myles Boe, has filed a statement of claim against Cole and the United Church of Canada (Q.B.G. No. 1385, 1999). Cole served as a United Church minister in Lanigan and was dismissed in a hush-hush firing after it came to the church's attention that he was molesting boys there in the late sixties.

There are many more of Cole's victims out there and many of them no doubt feel embarrassed and alone. The secrecy of the United Church and the practice of court publication bans, combined with a misplaced sense of decorum on the part of the media have allowed this monster to develop, harden and flourish for over 30 years. In court, his demeanor was subdued as he heard the court sentence him to an ankle bracelet for a year. We learned that he has never sought treatment, but through his lawyer, we heard that he is now willing to take it. We are suspicious of his sincerity. We know for certain that there are other victims of his sexual and psychological abuse who refused to come forward because they still fear this man.

Richard Klassen had a hard time persuading the police to press charges against Cole. The StarPhoenix refused to investigate the connection between Social Services and Cole's cult church. As we pursued justice in this matter, we were told that he is old, destitute and "harmless." The old telephone directories at the library show many listings for his organization and for himself. Social Services provided him directly and indirectly with amounts of money which would be in the millions by today's standards.

Sheila Gagne, who is now the head of Social Services, was a young social worker at the time.

He is not harmless. As Don Scott's statement clearly showed, his way of operating is to befriend the mothers of his victims and then let him spend time alone with their sons. Many mothers were sucked in to believing he was a decent person who wanted to provide spiritual guidance to their boys. Scott was younger than Klassen at the time of the respective molestations.

Nonetheless he is a predator about whom we had personal knowledge and by putting in a great deal of effort managed to have him convicted. It is too bad his punishment is in the same order as those of the murderers of Scott Asher.

In fact he is a con artist who deceived the United Church, Saskatchewan Social Services, the parents of many young boys and the boys themselves. As his criminal career progressed, he developed a taste for younger and younger flesh.

Father Kenneth Greer

Kenneth Greer was a priest who diddled boys in Dysart, where he was parish priest, and at summer camp. He pled guilty to five counts of sexual touching after initially maintaining his innocence. He changed his mind only after pressure from within the church. He will be sentenced August 9. His lawyer, in asking for a conditional sentence, said Greer never threatened or forced his victims and did not hold much power over their lives that he could exploit! Isn't being in charge of their souls a position of power? The Crown is asking for 18-30 months. This dirty old fart is 65 years old and he could live a long time. He is no longer a priest and hangs out in Regina and Lethbridge. Go ahead and forgive him but don't let him anywhere near boys! Greer will be free any day now -- in fact he might be out there already!

Visit Black Collar Crime.

Sex con registry may be put on Net

Thursday, July 16, 1998

By TOM BLACKWELL -- The Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) -- Canadians might soon be able to find out the names and addresses of dangerous pedophiles as Ontario moves closer to setting up the country's first sex-offender registry. The database would likely include names of people convicted of sex crimes and information on where they're currently living, said Solicitor General's Ministry spokesman Ken Tufts. The government is debating whether to make it accessible to the public through such means as the Internet, libraries or the media and not just to police, he said.

Critics say a public registry could force sex offenders underground and away from treatment but Tufts said the government has to weigh the need for a shield against some of society's most-feared criminals. "We have to strike a balance between those kind of concerns and the very real concerns of the public and parents that their children are going to be protected," he said. Provincial and federal justice ministers are currently looking at setting up a national registry, although Ottawa has been lukewarm to the idea.

Ontario would prefer to be part of a national project, but will press ahead with its own regardless, Tufts said. The registry is to be in place as soon as possible, with an official plan going to cabinet for approval this fall, he said. One unresolved issue is whether all sex offenders would be on the registry or just pedophiles.

The ministry is looking at a number of models in the U.S. and the U.K., including a four-year-old registry in Indiana. Residents of the state can key in names on an Internet site or check through printed lists to see if a neighbor, school teacher or anyone else has been convicted of a sexual offence against children. State law says an organization could be liable in civil court if it hires someone on the list. Becky McClure, assistant director of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, said a woman in her own neighborhood discovered from perusing the list in a library that a man convicted of child molestation had moved in nearby. She warned her children to stay away from him.

"It's a good tool," McClure said in an interview. U.S. studies have also shown registries can help police investigations, indicating if a known sex offender is living near the scene of a crime. But the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has warned the idea could be abused if there are not strict limits on whose names get on and who gets access to them. A registry accessible to the public could actually be dangerous, forcing sexual offenders to leave a community where they're getting treatment and surface somewhere they're not known, said Bill Sparks of the John Howard Society. "The problem is that it can so easily backfire," he said. Tufts said provincial legislation passed last year declared that the province's privacy legislation does not apply to publishing the names of released dangerous offenders.

Coverage of the Larry Fisher trial can be found here.

Karla Homulka is in Saskatoon at the Regional Psychiatric Centre. Read "A moral vacuity in her which is difficult if not impossible to explain": law, psychiatry and the remaking of Karla Homolka by Anne McGillivray, Associate Professor of Law, University of Manitoba, Canada. As if our home-grown psychopaths aren't dangerous enough, they will now have the opportunity to learn some of Karla's tricks! See also Senate Debate, March 19, 1996 on : Bill S-3, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (plea bargaining)

Manitoba soft on babysitter diddling: time to revisit this decision? | Yahoo has a list of dangerous sex offender registries in North America. Are we our monsters' keepers? is a persuasive account of a child molester who has received effective treatment. We know of no such cases in Saskatchewan. 

March 26, 2001: Suddenly these sex offenders' registries are popping up all over the country. The Harris government in Ontario is being praised in some quarters for doing this. Whoa. Think again.

Anyone ACCUSED of a sex crime is automatically placed on this registry, as nearly as we can understand it. With all the false accusations (many of which are part of divorce proceedings or are grudge charges by disgruntled partners who went nuts once they realized they could damage a person by making claims which would be accepted without corroboration) we can foresee many existing injustices becoming compounded by further injustice.

We have enough injustices to bust already! The recklessness of justice and social services departments all over the country make us fearful that many more innocent persons are going to be branded as sex criminals.

This speaks loudly to the need for corroboration. It also raises the question of nonpublication orders. Anyone who is prepared to put another person in jail should be prepared to have his/her identity known. This may indeed be embarrassing. A red face may be the price of justice in many instances.

Tories announce Dangerous sex offenders' registry in Ontario :Tories to unveil sex offender registry

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, Queen's Park Bureau, April 16, 1999, Ottawa News

TORONTO --  The Ontario government will create the country's first sex offender registry and name it in memory of Christopher Stephenson.

Deputy Premier Ernie Eves is expected to announce today the details of the registry which will include the names and current addresses of anyone living in the province who has been convicted of a serious sex offence in Canada.

The registry will be called Christopher's Law, to honour the memory of the 11-year-old Brampton boy slain by serial sex offender Joseph Fredericks.

According to documents obtained by the Sun, the new law will register people convicted of offences such as sexual interference with a child under 14, incest, bestiality, sexual assault, child pornography and sexual exploitation (of kids 14 to 17).

Under Ontario's new law, a convicted child rapist like Alison Parrott's killer, Francis Carl Roy, would be registered.

A coroner's inquest into the death of Stephenson had recommended that a national registry be set up so these offenders could be tracked across the country.

Solicitor General Bob Runciman decided to go ahead with a provincial registry only after repeated attempts failed to get the federal government to establish a national registry, a source said.

"They've just said no," one provincial official said.

The registry will be available only to police, but the provincial government has made it possible for officers to release the information publicly if needed.

Constitutional concerns apparently quashed Tory attempts to create a public registry.

The new legislation, which Runciman will introduce in the spring session of the House, will make it unlawful for a sex offender on the registry to change addresses without notifying police.

Failure to comply with the new law can lead to a fine of $25,000 and/or a one-year jail term, two years for a second offence, documents say.

Offenders on the registry will have to update their addresses within 15 days of the release of custody, within 15 days of a change of address and on an annual basis.

Woman arrested in 'Net rape :

Cops: Girl, 12, attacked by phony 'boy'

by Ian Robertson The Toronto Sun Saturday, January 23, 1999

A 12-year-old Ajax girl was allegedly raped with a fake penis by a woman who used the name "Smurf" to meet young girls over the Internet, a police source said.

Durham Regional Police detectives thought they were going to arrest a man when they went to an Etobicoke address Thursday, Sgt. Jim Grimley said yesterday.

He said police want to hear from people who "fear" they may have been targeted by a woman. She's described as white, 5-foot-6, 131 pounds, with short blonde hair, green eyes, several scars on her arms and is known to wear a stud on her bottom lip.

'Teenage Boy'

Grimley also urged parents to learn how to use computer tracing systems to check who their children are communicating with via e-mail and web sites.

The woman "passed herself off on the Internet as a teenage boy" seeking contact with girls, Grimley alleged.

Several girls who communicated with someone they thought was a boy named Kelly Andrew Slator gave out the young Ajax girl's telephone number, Grimley said.

The girl and a woman spoke by phone last month and "apparently met more than once" in Ajax, police said.

The 12-year-old told her parents she was assaulted at home Jan. 8 by a new "boyfriend", Grimley said.

He wouldn't disclose the degree of the alleged assault, but a police source claimed the girl was assaulted with a sexual aid.

Detectives Jim Douglass and James Haass seized several "sexual aids", videotapes and a lap-top computer in a woman's apartment.

Grimley said police have seen an alarming increase in the number of kids who are falling prey to people contacting them on the Internet.

Instead of regarding computer monitoring as an invasion of privacy, parents should keep the computer in an open area instead of kids' bedrooms, he said, and children should be warned of potential dangers as a form of street-proofing.

Durham's sex assault squad is at 1-888-579-1520, Ext. 5371.

Kelly Ann Laird, 21, of Warrender Ave., Etobicoke, is charged with sex assault and two counts of sexual interference. She was denied bail and remanded in custody yesterday for a 30-day psychiatric assessment. She returns to court Feb. 19.

There is a publication ban on court proceedings.

And who, we ask, does such a ban protect?

Witness tampering in the Foster Parent case |

  John Martin Crawford (we have moved him)

Former StarPhoenix Reporter Warren Goulding has just written a book about the police bungling in the Crawford case.