DUNCAN, B.C. — A former Ontario police officer who uncovered allegations of a pedophile ring in eastern Ontario was arrested at his Duncan, B.C., home Sunday over his refusal to appear before a public inquiry.
RCMP officers gave Perry Dunlop the option of flying back to Ontario on his own to face sentencing on Wednesday in Toronto for contempt of court charges. Mr. Dunlop was found guilty of contempt for refusing to testify at the Ontario public inquiry looking into how authorities dealt with the allegations of a pedophile ring in the Cornwall area.
Mr. Dunlop refused to go on his own to Toronto and was then arrested without incident by three Mounties. Several of Mr. Dunlop's family members were crying as he was led away by police.
About 100 protesters outside the Dunlop home chanted “We love you Perry,” and “We support you Perry,” as he was placed in a police cruiser.
Until now, Mr. Dunlop has refused to testify saying he's lost faith in a justice system that may put him in jail.
His wife Helen waited outside the North Cowichan RCMP detachment in Duncan, where her husband was in custody.
“I just want him to be safe,” she said “They gave him a blanket. He's not talking”.
“She said she wasn't able to speak with her husband at the station because the custody area does not have a space for visitors”.
RCMP told her they would inform her when Mr. Dunlop was to be escorted to Ontario in a situation she called “absurd.”
In August 2001, the Ontario Provincial Police ended a four-year probe into the alleged pedophile ring. The investigation, dubbed Project Truth, concluded the allegations were baseless.
A total of 114 charges were laid against 15 high-profile men in the 1990s, but the courts only convicted one man who had no connection to the alleged sex ring.
The allegations of a sex ring, some of which dated back to the 1960s, persisted until a public inquiry was called in 2005.