injusticebusters 2002 > > Scott Gobeil: O.P.P. abuses his authority in the Smith internet-porn "investigation."

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More bad cops: Winnipeg cop Loren Schinkel | RCMP Haslett and Shinkaruk | Saskatoon Superintendent Dueck

Sex-crazy cops: Paul Gillespie

O.P.P. Detective Constable Scott Gobeil: abuse of authority and theft of citizens' property

Material in Smith appeal

He was Senior Constable before he arrested Don Smith for publishing a website which his seniors had told him was legal. He fabricated evidence. He lied about the nature of the website. Nonetheless he raided Smith's home, grabbed his computers and had him arrested for obscenity. With the help of Crown Prosecutor Christine Bartlett-Hughes he secured a conviction and a Draconian fine. Smith has now been banned from the internet but before that happened, he used his charter right to free speech to call the case as he saw it.

Based on what was published online, Gobeil and his partner, Brad Williams have sued Smith, his wife Lorna and brother Billy for defamation and each seeks a remedy of $3M. Prosecutor Christine Bartlett-Hughes has been named as a witness. It has so far cost the Smiths more than $20,000 to defend against this nuicance suit. Gobeil has continued to harass the Smiths since the conviction.

Lorna Smith got a new job in Kenora (where the family has now moved from Fort Francis) and Gobeil has phoned her boss.

The words which Gobeil found necessary to sue over stated Gobeil is ". . . the police officer that is mostly behind the raping of our civil liberties (and) belongs to a fundamentalist separatist church that knows and teaches little of God's grace. . ."

This whole case arose within the context of a Baptist congregation of which both Gobeil and the Smiths were members. Fort Francis is a small community in norther Ontario with a lot of churches.

More of the words the constable objected to, that Smith had allegedly published on the internet: "I believe that Scott Gobeil used his authority as a police officer to try and force me to bow to his religious, moral convictions. He tried to accomplish this by pressing for a search warrant and my arrest. The remarks made to the media clearly indicate that his intention was malicious. He likely thought that if he could expose my sin to the community and the whole country that I would be shamed into repenting for making sinful movies . . ."

In fact the fanciful special effects "snuff" movies which the Ontario court found to be obscene are mild when compared to a lot of material that can be found on the internet without even searching very hard.

Scott Gobeil has broken the law and so far he has got away with it. However, there are cases springing up across the counrty where cops are being nailed for crimes they have committed against citizens under colour of law. The civil case against Superintendent Brian Dueck in Saskatoon comes to trial September 8. (Hatchen and Munson, the two Saskatoon officers who took Darrell Night to the edge of town in the dead of winter, are now in jail and have lost their jobs). Winnipeg's Loren Schinkel, head of the police union there is under scrutiny for having manufactured evidence against Monique Turenne.

Smith has appealed his conviction and it is unlikely it will stand. Smith and his whole family have been prevented from having an internet connection in their home as part of the conviction. This is not likely to be a permanent situation.

The Smith case would seem to be a bump on the road toward establishing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the law of the land and not just some cute document dreamed up by Pierre Trudeau. The Scott Gobeil of this world will have to take special training to understand what it means to be a policeman in a free and democratic country. If their brains are up to it . . .

Another personage in this notorious case is Judge Helen Pierce. It will ultimately be her errors which will be the reasons for overturning the conviction and sentence. There are plenty from which the higher court can choose. Definitely back to judge school for you, Helen.

Grabs from when Gobeils and winnipeg cop Wayne Harrison wnt on TV to tell lies about

Smith trial | Newspaper coverage | The Smith's ordeal for the last two years | Don Smith in his own words | Christine Bartlett-Hughes | Where did this start? | Robin Sharpe | Canada's new legislation | "John Doe" case | Toronto Police

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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We have been reporting on this story since 2000.

Our first report
The trial
Dr. Don in his own words
Fort Frances Times
Christine Bartlett-Hughes



Sermonetts
1)The police not only failed to serve and protect Don and Lorna Smith and their children but actively participated in setting them up for false charges and community shunning (summer, 2004)
2) The naked truth (April, 2003)




Inquisition 21st Century

Another target of Dueck's malice:

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Index to Saskatoon Police stories

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

Hatchen and Munson: These two drove Darrell Night to the edge of Saskatoon on a freezing January night in 2000. They were found guilty of unlawful confinement, did some time and are acknowledged by the Saskatoon Police Service for each having served for 17 years. The Police Association stood by them and paid for their defence until they were convicted. Only then were they fired.

An incredible, long series on abusive cops in the Seattle Post-Intelligence

Washington Post series on false confessions


Ontario: Dylan Chochla
Keigo Glen White
John Chalmers


"Expert" testimony
Reid Technique
Clayton Johnson
Monique Turenne
James Driskell

Vancouver police
Winnipeg police

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

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April 30, 2005

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