PRINCE GEORGE (CANADA)
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) [Toronto, Canada]
November 17, 2025
By Lauren Vanderdeen
[Document above: Nicholas Harrison, now a Delta resident, attended Sacred Heart Elementary School in Prince George in the 1970s. (Submitted by Nicholas Harrison)]
Lawyer for Nicholas Harrison says defendant filed for ’11th-hour’ bankruptcy before start of jury trial
A four-week jury trial in a historical Catholic sexual abuse case was supposed to begin Monday at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, but an “11th-hour” bankruptcy declaration by one of the defendants has delayed the proceeding.
Delta resident Nicholas Harrison is suing the Presentation Brothers of Ireland and two deceased members — Dennis O’Mahoney, a school principal known as Brother Leopold, and Vincent James, a teacher known as Brother Paschal — over claims of sexual, physical and psychological abuse while Harrison was a student at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Prince George between 1973 and 1977.
The Presentation Brothers is an international religious order of Roman Catholic laymen whose primary purpose is education of young people.
Harrison’s civil suit, which started in 2022, initially included more defendants. He has since settled claims against the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate as well as the Diocese of Prince George and the Catholic Independent Schools Diocese of Prince George.
CBC News was unable to reach the Presentation Brothers for comment before publication deadline, but in court documents they deny the allegations of abuse and say the plaintiff’s lawsuit was unreasonably delayed.
No counsel for the Presentation Brothers was in court Monday.
The Presentation Brothers filed for bankruptcy less than a week before the trial was set to begin, in a move that Harrison’s lawyer Sandra Kovacs described as unexpected.
“Having thrown this wrench into the wheels at the 11th hour really prejudices my client,” Kovacs told Judge Kevin Loo in court.
In a court filing, Kovacs wrote the Brothers “surreptitiously” filed for bankruptcy.
She noted a search of bankruptcy proceedings showed the Brothers have declared liabilities of about $72,000 and “just $1 in total assets.”
Kovacs said the timing of the bankruptcy filing prejudiced Harrison, as they will not know the organization’s available assets until a meeting of the creditors on Dec. 2.
“The plaintiff does not wish for an adjournment — he has been on a 27-year journey for justice — but to proceed to a lengthy trial without knowing what recovery is available is foolhardy,” she wrote.
Kovacs said in the documents that counsel had spent “tremendous resources” preparing for the trial and added the delay is emotionally distressing to Harrison.
Loo agreed to adjourn the trial to a later date.
Outside of the courtroom, Harrison told CBC News the delay had been difficult.
“I’m very much looking forward to having them have to answer for all of this,” Harrison said.
“I want them to feel what it’s like to be living in fear and shame and guilt like I had to live with for a long time.”
Harrison, a professor, actor, author and playwright, said he stands with all those who have taken their lives while pursuing justice.
“I stand with ghosts of people who left, who chose to leave because it was easier,” he said.
“I vowed to my former lawyer that I wasn’t going to shut up because it’s not just about me — and people need to understand that. It’s about the children that are hurt.”
Lauren Vanderdeen is a web writer for CBC British Columbia. She formerly worked for community newspapers, including the Burnaby Now and New West Record. You can reach her at lauren.vanderdeen@cbc.ca.