CANADA
The Telegram
Barb Sweet
Published on February 25, 2015
CONTENT MAY DISTURB SOME READERS
The United Church is once again distancing itself from a former doctor and minister, denying liability for the latest sex abuse allegations against him stemming from his time in this province decades ago.
The church filed a statement of defence last week in the latest civil claim against Stephen James Collins, the first defendant in a Jane Doe case that dates back to the 1960s. The allegations have not been proven in court and her community cannot be named.
The statement of claim, filed late last year by Will Hiscock of Budden and Associates, contends the church failed to properly screen Collins or to properly supervise him and should have known there was “criminal behaviour against children.”
The woman claims she was abused in the 1960s when she participated in church activities such as choir and Sunday school led by Collins.
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