CANADA
Hamilton Spectator
By Susan Clairmont
A veteran Crown attorney and a high profile defence lawyer could face criminal charges for cutting a deal that let a priest escape the country rather than face sex abuse charges.
However Dean Paquette, the priest’s council, says there is no basis for such charges against him or the Crown.
The Ministry of the Attorney General will not say if its probe into the controversial handling of the case involving Reverend Jose Silva involves a criminal investigation. But buzz around the John Sopinka Courthouse where the deal was brokered is that technically, criminal charges could be laid against Paquette and assistant Crown attorney Carey Lee.
The reasoning goes like this: failing to appear in court is a criminal offence. Silva failed to appear in court because Lee and Paquette worked together to arrange for him to return to Brazil, where he is from, even though he was facing charges related to the alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old man who says he was groped.
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