Heartbreaking stories about the sexual abuse of children and teens filled the courtroom in Cornwall, Ont., for weeks. Their abusers were priests, probation officers, lawyers — men in positions of authority and trust.

A provincial commission heard they were men backed by institutions that paid bribes to keep the victims silent, discouraged police investigation, offered the opportunity for the accused to leave quietly, or even welcomed them back to positions where they would have access to children.

On Dec. 15, 2009, the Cornwall Public Inquiry will release its final report about the way those organizations and others, including police, dealt with the abuse allegations.

The inquiry, which opened on Feb. 13, 2006, is expected to make recommendations about how institutions can improve their response to such allegations. But its other mandate is help the eastern Ontario community heal from the scandal that has simmered quietly for decades and badly tarnished the town's public image after it became public.

Dallas Lee, a lawyer for a group at the inquiry representing about 50 victims of sexual abuse, said there is a lot of anticipation about the release of the report.

'A long time coming'

"This has been a long time coming," he said.

He said his clients are hoping the report will silence once and for all critics' nagging denials that the abuse in Cornwall set it apart from any other Ontario community.

"My clients are looking for a really legitimate, hard-hitting, definitive answer to the fact that Cornwall was not the norm and that something unusual happened there and this inquiry needed to be called and that it was worth it."

Peter Engelmann, lead counsel for the inquiry, expressed little doubt that the $40-million inquiry was indeed worth it. About 400 people have received provincially-funded counselling as a result of the inquiry. Two-thirds of them were victims or alleged victims, both male and female, and the others were people who dealt with victims.

"We met so many victims or alleged victims who were very damaged," Engelmann said. "You have to value those costs — costs to society for people who are victimized and then cannot lead productive lives. They are at higher risk to offend or abuse others … so it's a huge problem. It's really difficult to put a public cost on it."

Lee said the victims are also hoping that the report will lead to institutions responding properly and compassionately to allegations of abuse, that police will improve the way they interview victims of historic abuse and that prosecutors will improve the way they handle abuse cases.

"'Cause that really fell apart in Cornwall."

There, few of the alleged abusers ever faced justice in a way that brought closure to the victims. Some had charges stayed due to delays. Others committed suicide before they could be tried. Despite more than 100 charges laid in a number of investigations by several Ontario police forces, only a few men were convicted and sent to jail.

'Learning curve'

Engelmann confirmed the report will look into how the cases could be investigated and prosecuted better. However, he said historical abuse cases are very difficult to prosecute due to lack of forensic evidence. He also acknowledged that the abuse discussed at the inquiry took place in a different time and the attitude toward sexual abuse has evolved since then.

"It has been a learning curve," he said. One of the things the report will deal with is how institutions' response to abuse has changed over the years and whether they are adhering to their new policies.

Engelmann also acknowledged some people may be disappointed by the limits of the commission's mandate.

"You have so many people who want to make findings about criminal liability and/or civil liability and like any other public inquiry, we're forbidden from doing that."