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THE fifth estate: Hell to Pay
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February 12, 2003
THE POLICE TASK FORCE
The Case CollapsesThe trails against the nine accused began in March 1993. One - a young offender - was found guilty. The next, against John Popowich, collapsed when the boys who claimed they were assaulted couldn't pick him out in court. The case against the Sterlings dragged on for five months. In the end, Travis Sterling was found guilty but not his parents, Ron and Linda.
That's when the Saskatchewan Department of Justice ruled that there would be no more cases. The Courts ruled that there was no Devil Church, no Satan and no conspiracy of pedophiles. In the end, eight of the nine people charged were freed. Only Travis Sterling, the babysitter's son, went to jail for fondling and touching two of the children.
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It turned out that things in the Martensville investigation had gone wrong right from the start.
Despite orders from the crown prosecutors not to arrest anyone, Martensville Chief of Police Mike Johnson was so convinced in the Satanic conspiracy that laid the charges before the all of the evidence was in. (read the Crown Prosecutors version of what went wrong) No longer a police chief, he refused to talk to the fifth estate about the investigation.
Operation Forway
Saskatchewan Justice called in a special task force to sift through the evidence. The lead investigator Sgt. Rick Pearson quickly saw that the case had weak foundations, "at the end of the day, we started to see flaws of what didn't seem to hold any water and we started to question it and analyze it."
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The same thing happened with the suspects. When one child said he remembered being driven to the country by a cop, other children began to pick out police from the photographs they were shown. That's why the list of police suspects kept growing.
The Children's Testimony
The only evidence the prosecution had was the children's testimony - which was problematic. Experts who reviewed the tapes said the questions were leading. And when the children gave the 'right' answers they were rewarded with praise. The RCMP investigators had serious doubts about the allegations.
Just one month before the first trail in March 1993 Sgt. Rick Pearson told the crown prosecutors that their evidence was full of holes - opening a rift with the prosecutors. "There was criticism of the task force in that it didn't go in the direction they wanted it to go." But there was too much momentum and the cases proceeded anyways. (Read the RCMP's analysis of what went wrong with the investigation)
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Paying
for the Mistakes of Martensville
When questioned by the fifth estate the justice minister at the time,
Bob Mitchell, claims that he didn't know the case was unraveling. "I
am hearing this for the first time, that there was these doubts or these
concerns." And the crown prosecutor Bruce Bauer could not comment.
Some of the wrongly accused are suing the Saskatchewan government for
malicious prosecution. Last summer the province finally settled with former
police officer John Popowich. He received
1.3 million dollars. (read a letter of apology
written by Justice Minister Chris Axworthy) Other cases are still
before the courts.
KEY DATES IN THE MARTENSVILLE SAGA
June,
1988
A sexual assault complaint against Travis Sterling is made to the Martensville
police department. No charges result from the allegation, by a ten-year-old
girl.
Sept.
19, 1991
Claudia Bryden is hired as an officer with the
Martensville department.
Sept.
30, 1991
Parents of a two-year-old girl complain to Martensville constable Jim
Elstad, alleging the child has been assaulted by Travis Sterling.
Oct.
1, 1991
Elstad refers to the complaint to Claudia Bryden,
who begins investigating immediately.
Oct.
4, 1991
Sexual assault charges are laid against Travis Sterling in connection
with the 1988 complaint.
Nov.
2, 1991
Additional sexual assault charges are laid against Travis Sterling, now
in relation to the September complaint.
Dec.
20, 1991
Sexual assault, uttering threats and pointing a firearm charges are laid
against Linda Sterling.
Jan.
16, 1992
Ron Sterling is charged with sexual assault,
uttering threats and pointing a firearm.
March
2, 1992
Ex-RCMP officer Mike Johnston is hired as the new chief for the Martensville
police department.
April
1, 1992
Martensville constable Jim Elstad is charged with sexual assault and sexual
interference.
June
3, 1992
Police arrest Jim Elstad and Ron, Linda and Travis
Sterling. A 20-year-old woman is arrested under the Young Offenders
Act. Former Martensville police chiefs Darryl Ford and Ed Revesz, along
with RCMP constable Darren Sabourin, are also arrested.
June
5, 1992
Saskatoon police Corporal John Popowich is
charged with sexual abuse and arrested.
June
11, 1992
A task force of RCMP and Saskatoon police officers is created by the provincial
government to take over the Martensville investigation.
March
8, 1993
The trial of the female young offender begins. She is convicted on seven
of the 10 sex-related charges. All convictions are later overturned on
appeal.
June
8, 1993
All charges against Saskatoon police officer John
Popowich are stayed when the child complainants cannot identify him
in court. The judge says he is clearly innocent.
July
1, 1993
The Martensville Police Department is disbanded, law enforcement in the
community taken over by the RCMP.
Feb.
2, 1994
Ron and Linda Sterling are found not guilty
during a jury trial on all counts. Travis Sterling is convicted on eight
counts; six are overturned on appeal.
Feb.
10, 1994
The Crown stays all charges against Darren Sabourin, Jim Elstad, Ed Revesz
and Darryl Ford.
September,
1994
Saskatoon police officer John Popowich initiates
a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the government of Saskatchewan,
Crown prosecutors and police investigators.
June
18, 2002
The government of Saskatchewan pays John Popowich
$1.3 million and publicly states it prosecuted an innocent man as part
of an out-of-court settlement on the eve of his civil trial.
INVESTIGATING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIMS
In
the ten years since the Martensville case police authorities have made
some changes in how they investigate child sexual abuse claims. According
to Detective St. Lynn Kantautas, head of the Sexual Assault Child Abuse
Team for the Durham Regional Police investigating such claims is always
stressful. "You have to protect the child, but you also have to protect
the accused."
Investigators who do the interviews are now required to take a training
course in how to investigate sexual offenses against children. The interviews
are done with the Children's Aid Society present to minimize the number
of times the child has to be questioned. They are also videotaped so that
they can be reviewed later.
"We have to be totally impartial. We assess all aspects of the case
- including the credibility of the victim," says St. Kantautas. Although
it was previously believed that children never lie, research has shown
this isn't the case. "Children can have very active imaginations,"
says Kantautas. Investigators now learn to assess children and recognize
how their developmental stage may effect interview process.
Previous experience - with cases like Martensville - has shown that a
child's testimony can be tainted by the investigators own beliefs. This
can lead to a false allegation of abuse. Investigators are taught not
to ask the children leading questions and not to use verbal praise to
elicit responses. "It's important not to contaminate disclosure,"
says Kantautas, "because then the testimony will be less important
in court."
CBC:
the fifth estate - Hell to Pay
The Martensville
"Satanic Sex Scandal"
A Police Task Force Uncovers the Truth
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