scene in saskatchewan

For the male survivor of newly registered sex offender Bonnie McLachlan, justice has been a long time coming. It was recently, finally, delivered in a Prince Albert courtroom, albeit in a form many are decrying as pathetically lenient.

It all began for a 15-year-old Prince Albert boy in 1993, when Bonnie was a teacher at his school.

Over the course of the ’93-’94 school year, the then-32-year-old teacher sexually exploited the boy - during trips to a local gym, at a local park and during the school trip to Banff, where witnesses testified that when the boy and Bonnie weren’t off on their own, they spotted McLachlan straddling and kissing the boy in a hot tub.

In fact, right before departing for that illicit Banff getaway, McLachlan was cautioned by the school’s principal. “Make sure you’re professional,” he warned her.

Inexplicably, despite the need for that conversation, McLachlan was allowed to load up her vehicle with young boys, including her victim, and cross provincial lines for a sleepover.

McLachlan said she knew there were rumours of a sexual relationship involving her and the boy, which contributed to her being put on stress leave late in the 1993-1994 school year. She admitted to the courtroom that she had even received a letter from administration in June of 1994 ordering her to stop communicating with the young man altogether.

The school year ended and it would appear the abuse came to a close with the school doors. The summer of 1994 came and went, as did almost twenty more summers after that.

Then in 2010 the male survivor, now in his mid-thirties, came forward to police and shared his story, and undoubtedly, his pain.

McLachlan was charged with one count of sexual exploitation and suspended from the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division in Prince Albert. Yes, she had continued to work with children for almost 20 years after sexually exploiting the young male in question.

In November 2011, a Prince Albert jury acquitted Bonnie McLachlan. ”This is God’s victory,” Bonnie declared triumphantly to reporters as she raced out of the courthouse.

In July 2012 The Court of Appeal unanimously ruled McLachlan would face a retrial, based on a last-minute decision by the first trial’s judge.

On April 19, 2013, after another one-week jury-trial, Bonnie McLachlan was found guilty of that one count of sexual exploitation.

What came next, during her April 24, 2013 sentencing, is nothing short of mind-blowing.

McLachlan, now 52, was handed an 18-month conditional sentence. She will be added to the National Sex Offender registry, have to complete 200 hours of community service, submit a DNA sample, enter into sexual “relationship” counseling, and is barred from consuming or purchasing alcohol. At the end of the conditional sentence she will be on probation for one year. Finally, she will also have to shell out a $100 victim surcharge.

The Crown prosecutor had been seeking a sentence of two years less a day in jail (which would put her in a provincial correctional facility), while the defence asked for a conditional sentence.

The leniency of the sentence on it’s own is incredible, but in the context of our Canadian justice system, is not particularly uncommon.

The judges comments during sentencing, however, were astounding.

Upon advising Bonnie she was now labeled a full-blown registered sex-offender, Judge Marty Popescul said that label was harsher than any punishment he could impose.

Really.

Really?

Well then, what do we need you for in the first place, Your Honor?

Popescul then goes on extol the “impressive” amount of support shown by friends and family for Bonnie, but admitted he was a tad concerned over the fact that she never once apologized or expressed remorse for sexually exploiting a teenaged boy.

Evoking a higher power again, which Bonnie clearly figures is on her side, McLachlan indicated to the court that she was “praying” to God to give her “great wisdom”. She then thanked her supporters for walking “this journey” with her.

But not a word for the brave man who endured the court process – twice – in order to land his abuser in jail back in her living room and $100 poorer.

Popescul’s final comments were the ones that really blew me away.

The judge cited the “public embarrassment” which Bonnie “suffered” as a reason for the lightened sentence. He looked at his imaginary crystal ball

evidence

historical proof

notes and said the community would not be endangered by her presence.

And finally, he said he saw no evidence the victim was “severely damaged.”

A victim of childhood sexual abuse… not severely damaged.

Is this what our justice system has boiled down to? As long as a sex offender is “embarassed”, and as long as the victim seems alright – no harm done?

The first person I thought after reading the judge’s comments was NHL legend and sex abuse survivor Theo Fleury. He was quick to answer my call, and as passionate as ever on this topic.

“Anytime you have shame attached to anything, we take on that shame – we live with the secret,” said Fleury. “It’s very difficult to come with terms with it. After the abuse, one’s left with a whole bunch of stuff to deal with – shame, anger, guilt, resentment. It’s emotional pain. Everybody has their own way of dealing with emotional pain, but we all get to a point where we’re sick and tired of dealing with the pain – we have to rid ourselves of the secret. We decide we’re not going to live like this anymore – the secret is not going to define me.”

Speaking of the word “victim” – it’s not high on Fleury’s list of chosen vocabulary. “He’s not a victim. This thing happened to him, but he didn’t want it to happen. He’s not a victim, he’s a survivor.” Fleury was quick to add, however, that the fact this particular survivor had to suffer through two trials was the very definition of re-victimization.

Fleury had no time for the notion that the fact McLachlan is a female sex offender who abused a male victim is any different. “Female and male perpetrators – they’re exactly the same,” said Fleury. “They get themselves into positions of power, trust. Very good at manipulation – it’s a key characteristic. They all have the exact same mindset and motive, but in a different package.”

Bonnie McLachlan’s victim chose not to read an impact statement, but Fleury had a message for him anyway.

“I would tell him I absolutely believe every word coming out of his mouth. He is certainly not alone.”

“I believe him, I support him 100%.”