Graham James got a whopping two years of jail today for his multiple years sexual abuse of Greg Gilhooly. The judged made the following statement in court:
This says to me as a survivor that the court doesn't understand what the damage is when a child is sexually abused. Sexual abuse destroys your soul, you learn not to trust yourself or others, your ability to develop your own sexuality is forever gone, you can develop addictions and mental health issues. I haven't met one survivor who didn't have mental health issues. You can still have a good life if you have the ability to afford good mental health services. There are many who can't emotionally or mentally come to terms with who the offender was so they just never get help for what they survived. Many are afraid that those who love them won't believe them. Then there are those who want help but can't afford it. All because some adult felt it was appropriate to sexually abuse them.Judge Carlson said the court was tasked with weighing the severity of the charges with the amount of time that has passed since James committed the offences.
The reality is that there is a percentage of children who were sexually abused who become adults who sexually abuse. That is why this epidemic has to end. I'd like to ask the judge what she would think severe is? Just because there aren't bruises on the outside doesn't mean their aren't any on the inside. I think their should be laws passed that if a predator abuses a child and is arrested and found guilty they should automatically have to pay for the survivors mental health services for life. Rosie
Court artist's sketch shows Graham James during
his sentencing hearing in Winnipeg, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. (Tom
Andrich / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
CTVNews.ca Staff
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120320/graham-james-sentencing-120320/#ixzz1phMpIAtM
CTVNews.ca Staff
Date: Tue. Mar. 20 2012 5:21 PM ET
A former coach characterized as the "most hated man in hockey" has
been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing two of his
players.
Graham James was asked to stand in the prisoner box of a Winnipeg courtroom as Justice Catherine Carlson delivered her decision on Tuesday.
After sentencing, a spectator in the courtroom spat out an expletive as James shook his lawyer's hand and was led away in handcuffs and taken into custody.
"There is no sentence this court can impose which the victims and indeed the public will find satisfactory," Judge Carlson told the packed courtroom.
James pleaded guilty in December to repeatedly assaulting former NHL player Theo Fleury and Fleury's cousin Todd Holt in the 1980s and 1990s when they played for him in the Western Hockey League. Carlson ordered that James have no contact with either Fleury or Holt.
Charges involving a third player, Greg Gilhooly, have been stayed as part of a plea deal with the Crown.
For more than a year, James has been quietly living and working in Montreal, out on bail under the condition he doesn't contact any victims or accusers, among other orders.
His lawyer Evan Roitenberg had earlier argued that James was rehabilitated and asked for a conditional sentence of 12 to 18 months. The Crown had asserted that James was at a high risk to reoffend and urged the judge to consider a six-year jail term.
Judge Carlson said the court was tasked with weighing the severity of the charges with the amount of time that has passed since James committed the offences.
Speaking for both himself and Fleury at a news conference in Cochrane, Alta., Holt responded to the ruling with disappointment.
"This sentence today is nothing short of a national travesty because we know that childhood abuse has reached epidemic proportions in our country," he told reporters.
Present for the sentencing was Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL player who was also molested by James. The disgraced coach pleaded guilty to sexual abuse against Kennedy in 1997 and served about 18 months of a three-and-a-half year-sentence.
"Obviously it's not a sentence that we all want to see," Kennedy said of the most recent sentencing, adding that no court ruling could "come close to the damage that (abuse) leaves in its wake."
Earlier in the day, Kennedy said the purpose of his presence in court and goal moving forward was to make the "invisible damage of abuse visible."
The court heard in late February that James groomed Fleury and Holt for abuse by threatening to make or break their careers. Gilhooly, a third alleged victim who never played for James, made similar claims in a statement released Saturday.
"He kept me under his spell by threatening to tell people I was gay, to tell people at school that I was a problem," wrote Gilhooly, now a Toronto-based lawyer.
Gilhooly travelled to Manitoba to see his accused abuser's sentencing and expressed both contentment and dissatisfaction with the decision.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Gilhooly said he'd like to see the government take a harder line on convicted sex offenders.
"There has to be a better way to deal with a monster like Graham," he told reporters.
James originally faced nine new sex charges involving three players, with the alleged incidents occurring between 1979 and 1994. But due to a plea deal, he only pleaded guilty to charges involving two players.
Prior to being arrested, James was living discreetly in Mexico, away from the outrage that followed a controversial pardon in 2007 for his previous sentence. He returned in October 2010 after a warrant was issued on the new charges.
Evasive still, James has managed to dodge cameras outside the courtroom throughout the trial -- making court sketches the only recent public record of his appearance.
He arrived at the courthouse Tuesday with a red ski mask obscuring the lower part of his face. He and his lawyer swiftly brushed past reporters on their way to the sentencing.
A media consortium made up of CTV, CBC, Global and the Winnipeg Free Press had requested to broadcast the sentencing, but the application was struck down.
Judge Carlson ruled earlier in the week that having live cameras in the courtroom would sensationalize an already scandalous case. She also cited the issue of privacy, for both James and the victims.
Each in his own right, Fleury, Holt and Kennedy have all become advocates for victims of sexual abuse.
Holt, only 16 when the abuse started during his time with the WHL Swift Current Broncos, was the last of the three to go public with his story in late February. He said the decision was driven by a desire to let other victims know that they can speak out safely.
It's estimated Holt was assaulted by James hundreds of times from 1989 until 1994, at one point even offered money in exchange for sexual acts.
Fleury detailed how he was assaulted more than 150 times "by an adult my family and I trusted completely" in a victim impact statement released in late February.
"Do not show leniency to Graham James. He certainly never did to me or any of his other prey," he had urged the court.
Graham James was asked to stand in the prisoner box of a Winnipeg courtroom as Justice Catherine Carlson delivered her decision on Tuesday.
After sentencing, a spectator in the courtroom spat out an expletive as James shook his lawyer's hand and was led away in handcuffs and taken into custody.
"There is no sentence this court can impose which the victims and indeed the public will find satisfactory," Judge Carlson told the packed courtroom.
James pleaded guilty in December to repeatedly assaulting former NHL player Theo Fleury and Fleury's cousin Todd Holt in the 1980s and 1990s when they played for him in the Western Hockey League. Carlson ordered that James have no contact with either Fleury or Holt.
Charges involving a third player, Greg Gilhooly, have been stayed as part of a plea deal with the Crown.
For more than a year, James has been quietly living and working in Montreal, out on bail under the condition he doesn't contact any victims or accusers, among other orders.
His lawyer Evan Roitenberg had earlier argued that James was rehabilitated and asked for a conditional sentence of 12 to 18 months. The Crown had asserted that James was at a high risk to reoffend and urged the judge to consider a six-year jail term.
Judge Carlson said the court was tasked with weighing the severity of the charges with the amount of time that has passed since James committed the offences.
Speaking for both himself and Fleury at a news conference in Cochrane, Alta., Holt responded to the ruling with disappointment.
"This sentence today is nothing short of a national travesty because we know that childhood abuse has reached epidemic proportions in our country," he told reporters.
Present for the sentencing was Sheldon Kennedy, a former NHL player who was also molested by James. The disgraced coach pleaded guilty to sexual abuse against Kennedy in 1997 and served about 18 months of a three-and-a-half year-sentence.
"Obviously it's not a sentence that we all want to see," Kennedy said of the most recent sentencing, adding that no court ruling could "come close to the damage that (abuse) leaves in its wake."
Earlier in the day, Kennedy said the purpose of his presence in court and goal moving forward was to make the "invisible damage of abuse visible."
The court heard in late February that James groomed Fleury and Holt for abuse by threatening to make or break their careers. Gilhooly, a third alleged victim who never played for James, made similar claims in a statement released Saturday.
"He kept me under his spell by threatening to tell people I was gay, to tell people at school that I was a problem," wrote Gilhooly, now a Toronto-based lawyer.
Gilhooly travelled to Manitoba to see his accused abuser's sentencing and expressed both contentment and dissatisfaction with the decision.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Gilhooly said he'd like to see the government take a harder line on convicted sex offenders.
"There has to be a better way to deal with a monster like Graham," he told reporters.
James originally faced nine new sex charges involving three players, with the alleged incidents occurring between 1979 and 1994. But due to a plea deal, he only pleaded guilty to charges involving two players.
Prior to being arrested, James was living discreetly in Mexico, away from the outrage that followed a controversial pardon in 2007 for his previous sentence. He returned in October 2010 after a warrant was issued on the new charges.
Evasive still, James has managed to dodge cameras outside the courtroom throughout the trial -- making court sketches the only recent public record of his appearance.
He arrived at the courthouse Tuesday with a red ski mask obscuring the lower part of his face. He and his lawyer swiftly brushed past reporters on their way to the sentencing.
A media consortium made up of CTV, CBC, Global and the Winnipeg Free Press had requested to broadcast the sentencing, but the application was struck down.
Judge Carlson ruled earlier in the week that having live cameras in the courtroom would sensationalize an already scandalous case. She also cited the issue of privacy, for both James and the victims.
Each in his own right, Fleury, Holt and Kennedy have all become advocates for victims of sexual abuse.
Holt, only 16 when the abuse started during his time with the WHL Swift Current Broncos, was the last of the three to go public with his story in late February. He said the decision was driven by a desire to let other victims know that they can speak out safely.
It's estimated Holt was assaulted by James hundreds of times from 1989 until 1994, at one point even offered money in exchange for sexual acts.
Fleury detailed how he was assaulted more than 150 times "by an adult my family and I trusted completely" in a victim impact statement released in late February.
"Do not show leniency to Graham James. He certainly never did to me or any of his other prey," he had urged the court.
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120320/graham-james-sentencing-120320/#ixzz1phMpIAtM
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