Press Statement May 8, 2009

May 08, 2009

It was around this time of year 41 years ago when a pious and innocent Lou Ann Soontiens was first raped at a mere 12 years of age. What makes that event even more egregious is the fact that it occurred in the basement of her church by none other than her parish priest, Father Charles Sylvestre.

It went on over the next five years at least weekly and sometimes more often.

Of perhaps even greater importance is that it never should have occurred at all. The church was aware of the problems of Sylvestre.

That rape started a long journey for Lou Ann which took her through years of horrendous abuse. She twice spoke out against her abuser and twice was disbelieved. The abuse she endured was of every imaginable form and beyond. At times Sylvestre's sadistic sexual appetite resulted in the use of a broom stick on her while at other times he simply photographed her naked and in lewd positions. Lou Ann felt helpless to escape him. Sylvestre could access her at Church, he could take her from the classroom or the school yard, he could always find her.

By 1972 Sylvestre was still haunting Lou Ann. He would come to her Catholic High School and have her called down to the office where she was excused from class to "assist him at the church". Just when Lou Ann thought the situation could not get any worse it did. She became pregnant and Sylvestre was the father.

Ironically, Lou Ann's grandfather called Sylvestre to get advice. Contrary to the teachings of the very Church he served and as a further hypocrisy of his priesthood, Sylvestre arranged for her to have an abortion. The attempt failed, and hemorrhaging profusely she was rushed to London to proper medical care. What she does remember in the urgent trip from Chatham to London in her grandfather's car was holding a blood soaked towel between her legs. The medical records from London's Victoria Hospital dated February 21, 1973 document a follow-up procedure to an earlier incomplete abortion. Lou Ann recovered in hospital here in London.

Her only visitor - Father Sylvestre.

Following the abortion Lou Ann left home, left school and left the Church, all in a desperate effort to end the abuse. While the abuse did end, its effects were just beginning. With only a Grade 9 education decent work was hard to come by. She married young and she married often. While most of us look forward to going to bed after a long day, for Lou Ann the prospect of sleep means nightmares and memories. She has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the same condition veterans of military combat suffer from. Life for Lou Ann is one day at a time. Each day she gets up is another day she must simply try and survive. But she is a survivor.

After obtaining a criminal conviction against Sylvestre in 2006 Lou Ann engaged in the long road of civil justice by suing Sylvestre, his employer the Roman Catholic Diocese of London as well as the Nuns and School Board who failed her. Just this week, only days from the start of what would have been a two month long jury trial the Diocese and its insurers settled. The overall settlement of all claims and costs will exceed two million dollars. This is the largest known settlement of a single sexual abuse case in Canada.

In her moment of triumph Lou Ann is sadden by the fact that none of this, her abuse, her ruined life, or her legal battles had to happen. It was discovered over the course of her lawsuit that Sylvestre was reported to Church authorities in Hamilton in 1953, in Windsor in 1954, in London in 1958 and in Sarnia in 1962. Each time he was moved shortly after a complaint. Lou Ann did not meet Sylvestre until 1968.

This case is truly a travesty and we can only hope that from this tragedy we pledge to prevent such from happening again. Awareness, vigilance and prevention must be what we learn from the life and times of Lou Ann Soontiens.