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	Key Witness Boycotts Cornwall Sex Abuse Inquiry By Terry Pedwell The Canadian Press in the Toronto Star January 14, 2008 http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2008/01/14/4771904-cp.html CORNWALL, Ont. - The inquiry probing decades-old allegations of systemic sexual abuse in eastern Ontario resumed Monday without the court-ordered testimony of the man who started it all, a former police officer who remains unrepentant about boycotting the hearings. Perry Dunlop's off-duty, parallel investigation in the 1990s made public stunning allegations of a ritualistic pedophile ring operating decades earlier in Cornwall, Ont. With a running bill of $23 million and another key witness already testifying he lied when he told Dunlop he witnessed the alleged ring in action, the inquiry began its first hearing day of the year calling Dunlop to the witness stand. He wasn't there to respond. With the matter back before the courts, Dunlop - who was found in contempt for refusing to testify last fall - said from his home in Duncan, B.C., that he's prepared to "go to jail." One victims of sexual abuse attending the inquiry had mixed feelings about Dunlop's failure to show. "The whole situation is kind of unfortunate," said Jamie Marsolais, who added he didn't want to see the courts act harshly against Dunlop. "I understand the inquiry's position in this, and their mandate to try to get to the bottom of everything. But yet I respect (Dunlop's) decision because he's had a rough couple of years now." Lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann called Dunlop's actions disappointing, but said the inquiry will proceed in an attempt to hear other evidence. "The hearing will go on," said Engelmann. "It's unfortunate we won't have his perspective . . . it would have been nice to have his evidence." Dunlop said he will tell his story, but in his own time. "I think my perspective and my whole family's perspective will come out, but it won't be in the form of this inquiry," Dunlop said in a phone interview. "We will either write a book or do some sort of speaking tours." Dunlop could now face arrest in British Columbia, where he moved with his family after resigning from the Cornwall police in 2000. "Clearly the divisional court wanted him back to speak to the first contempt issue,"said Engelmann. "They're certainly going to want him back when they determine whether or not he had a lawful excuse to not attend... and answer the questions that they asked that he do." Dunlop, who said he's lost faith in the justice system and the inquiry, said he's willing to face whatever punishment the courts mete out. "If standing up for what's right and standing up for children in Canada means you're going to go to jail, I'm willing to go to jail," Dunlop said. "I think the victims are behind me and the public's behind me as well... They look at me as the person who did stand for 15 years and fight the fight." Dunlop's investigation prompted a police investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse he brought to light. Dubbed Project Truth, the police probe failed to turn up any proof of a ring, although one person was convicted as a result. The inquiry is probing the institutional response to allegations of abuse dating back some 50 years. Despite criticism by some that the probe has turned into nothing more than an expensive waste of time, Marsolais said he believed the latest phase of the inquiry would lead to healing for some abuse victims. Still, Dunlop's decision could affect the remainder of the inquiry by convincing other witnesses that they, too, have no reason to testify, said Marsolais. "Any time there's a conflict like this, are more people going to be turned off by the inquiry and not get involved?" he said. "(Sexual abuse) is still a problem in this society and we still have to deal with this problem."
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