More Abuse Allegations Surface

October 28, 2008

By: Chatham Daily News

Beckett Personal Injury Office's Scales of Justice's article image

Men claiming to be sexual abuse victims of a priest who served in Grande Pointe 50 years ago will appeal for information about the man at a news conference Monday.

The men all served as altar boys at St. Philippe's parish. Rob Talach, a lawyer with London firm Ledroit Beckett, said five lawsuits are being filed concerning alleged sexual misconduct by Father Lawrence Paquette.

The former priest with the Roman Catholic Diocese of London died in 1986. He's buried in Tilbury. Talach said very little is known about the man. "We don't know anything about him . . . we know when he was ordained and when he died," the lawyer said. "We are looking for the public's help."

Talach said as far as he can tell, Paquette worked at St. Philippe's parish in Grande Pointe around 1955 to 1963. Wayne Thibert, who was allegedly abused by Paquette while serving as an altar boy at St. Gregory Parish in St. Clair Beach near Windsor, filed the first lawsuit in January.

"As a result of that, all these other victims came forward," Talach said. Mark Adkinson, the diocese's director of communications, wasn't aware of the upcoming news conference or the additional lawsuits being filed. However, he's familiar with the original lawsuit filed by Thibert. "At that time, we weren't aware of any other allegations," he said.

Adkinson said that case would have been extensively investigated -- officials would have looked at parish records, personnel files and contacted people Paquette worked with. He wasn't able to contact anyone involved with the case to find out the status of the matter late Friday afternoon.

Adkinson said the diocese also wants to hear from anyone with information about Paquette. "Any person who is a victim of any priest or employee of the diocese, we would like to know," he said. "Anyone with information should come forward."

Vulnerable Victims

October 11, 2024

Vulnerable Victims

Sexual abuse is unfortunately a plague which spans all corners of the globe, all sexes and all socio-economic classes. That being said, those who have a pre-existing vulnerability can often find themselves the target of a perpetrator more often than others. From the poor fatherless boy in the parish to the already anxiety ridden teenager at the high school, these represent “targets” to offenders. Even adults in difficult phases of their lives, such as martial breakdown or a health crisis, can be vulnerable to abuse.

Read More
Disgraced former Winnipeg football coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault

October 9, 2024

Disgraced former Winnipeg football coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault

A disgraced former Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars. The 54-year-old man had pleaded guilty in July 2023 of nine counts of sexual assault and two counts of luring.

Read More
‘Done keeping it a secret’: Young woman speaks out about stepdad's sex abuse

October 7, 2024

‘Done keeping it a secret’: Young woman speaks out about stepdad's sex abuse

For more than a decade, Hope Jordan felt like she had duct tape covering her mouth. Amid fears of ripping her family apart and pressure from her mother to keep quiet, Jordan felt she couldn’t talk about the years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepdad, Ric Lahey, who was recently sentenced to seven years in prison.

Read More