Political Commentary and Opinion
Speaking of Family Courts and criminal courts, how can anyone (Parents) trust the legal system now and how many more judges are there. Here you have a Judge committing sex acts on children, and is an example of a Prince George, B.C. - now former provincial court judge, that was charged and pleaded guilty to sex crimes on kids. Some of the charges were nine sex-related counts involving juveniles, as well as one count of breach of public duty. Now it was found that RCMP officer(s) might have covered up for Ramsey. This Prince George Judge was sent to jail for years of sexual abuse against young native prostitutes. David Ramsey is doing seven years for the crimes. A former Prince George RCMP officer, may have a connection to the crimes. The officer in question was transferred to Nanaimo. He was on paid leave. And of course the Mounties won't confirm or deny that one of their own is being investigated in connection to the Ramsey case as happens in many other cases that have come forward over the years since.
Which isn't the first time, that the RCMP have done cover-up's, like they did in the Clifford McCann case below, or the passport scandle and coverup which let drug lords into Canada like the Ice Queen.
2 Mounties accused of sex offences
PRINCE GEORGE - An investigation into the sexual assaults of young prostitutes by former Prince George judge David Ramsay has led police to probe the actions of two RCMP officers who were once stationed in the city.
2 Mounties accused of sex offences
Officers alleged to have had sex with underage prostitutes http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=4a7f38e9-7780-47dd-8f89-c8ba1432e8e0
Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun
Friday, May 20, 2005
CREDIT: Dave Milne, Canadian Press
Former Provincial Court judge David Ramsay preyed on girls.
PRINCE GEORGE - An investigation into the sexual assaults of young prostitutes by former Prince George judge David Ramsay has led police to probe the actions of two RCMP officers who were once stationed in the city. Prince George RCMP media liaison officer Const. Mike Caira said Thursday that police have conducted a criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct by the officers. "It was all part and parcel of the same investigation," said Caira. On Wednesday the RCMP said the officers had been suspended with pay while the investigation continued into allegations of their having had sex with under-age prostitutes.
Ramsay, a former provincial court judge, was sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to four sexual assault charges involving young Aboriginal women -- some of whom he had dealt with in court -- and breach of trust.
He preyed upon the four girls who ranged in age from 12 to 17 years during an eight-year period beginning in 1992. One girl described how the judge smashed her head on the dashboard of his car when she refused to have unprotected sex with him and then raped her. Ramsay promised another girl he'd let her off in sentencing if she kept quiet about him.
Ramsay was sentenced to jail in June 2004, but following this police asked the victims not to speak to the media because they were continuing the investigation into what other "notable men" might also have done to them. At the time of sentencing the RCMP were criticized for not being quick enough to investigate Ramsay after reports of his abuses had been circulating in the city for at least three years. The RCMP investigation began in 2002 when one of the women appearing before Ramsay in a custody matter concerning her son recognized him. She broke down and went to the police.
The Vancouver Sun 2005
RCMP Officer Investigated
November 18, 2004
An RCMP officer is at the centre of new allegations involving young prostitutes in Prince George. The allegations stem from similar circumstances that sent a Prince George judge to prison five months ago. The former Prince George Mountie has now been suspended because of allegations of misconduct. CTV News has learned complaints from Prince George prostitutes are what lead to the suspension. The investigation into the Mountie began immediately after the David Ramsey trial ended in June. That's when the former judge was sent to prison for sexually assaulting and buying sex from four girls as young as twelve. The police officer in question has been relieved of duty for approximately eight weeks, while the major crime unit out of Vancouver investigates these allegations.
http://www.bcctv.ca/topnews.jsp?id=/news/stories/2004/11/news-20041118-03.htm
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (CP) - A former provincial court judge pleaded for help Tuesday just before he was sentenced to seven years in jail for sexually assaulting teen prostitutes, one as young as 12.
"I need treatment," David Ramsay told his sentencing hearing on sex charges Tuesday.
"I look forward to receiving it so that I never engage in such harmful and destructive conduct again."
Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm handed Ramsay a sentence that was two years longer than the maximum the Crown had been asking for, but likely won't appease members of the aboriginal community who were outraged by the crimes committed against aboriginal girls. "The accused has already paid a price for his crime," Dohm said.
"He lost his position as a respected judge, has the shame from his former colleagues and I fully expect his time in custody to be an exceptionally heavy burden." Ramsay couldn't give his four native victims any reason for his behaviour. Instead he spoke about the intense shame he now feels and his attempts to kill himself.
"I'm at a loss to explain to you, the complainants and my family, how I could work so hard in all other aspects of my life, yet fail by engaging in such disgraceful conduct," Ramsay said to the women he preyed upon. They lined the front row of the courtroom, across the aisle from Ramsay's wife and daughter. One was obviously pregnant.
"I cannot undo that which has been done, nor take away the pain or the indignity I've contributed to their lives." The four girls sobbed. Some held their faces in their hands while supporters rubbed the girls' backs and stroked their hair. At times they looked up in seeming disbelief.
The man was once a powerful authority figure in their lives who called them whores, paid them to perform demeaning sex acts and warned them no cop would ever believe their story. On Tuesday, he apologized to them in front of his peers, ending nearly 10 years of abuse.
In 1995 Ramsay started driving the youths, who pack Prince George's infamous hooker strolls, to the woods near the town jail. The trails that criss-cross the area leading to the railway tracks are completely deserted at night. According to a statement of facts agreed to by both sides, Ramsay paid the girls in this dark secluded place $60-$80 for oral sex without a condom or $150 for sex without a condom or for rough sex.
In one case, Ramsay picked up a 16-year-old girl and agreed to pay her $150 but flew into a rage when the girl still reached for a condom despite the higher price. He admitted to smashing her head on the dashboard and grabbing her hair, pinning her to the ground and repeatedly calling her a whore. He slapped her in the face and then forced her to have sex with him. He scared a 13-year-old girl with his demands and when she tried to run away he warned her no one would believe her if she reported him.
"Once a whore, always a whore," Ramsay spat. The former judge dealt with three of the girls in his courtroom before and after his encounters with them. He had full access to their files and knew exactly how young and troubled they were. But now Ramsay says he will be tormented for the rest of his life for what he did and he is so ashamed he has tried to kill himself. His lawyer, Leonard Doust, asked Dohm to take that into account. He asked for a sentence of no more than four years.
The Crown asked for a sentence of between three and five years. Doust said that shortly after learning about the investigation into his conduct, Ramsay waited until his wife left the house and broke into the gun cupboard. "He couldn't find the key so he unscrewed hinges to the door, but there were no bullets inside," Doust told B.C. Supreme Court.
According to psychiatric reports, Ramsay still contemplates suicide. He recently tried to kill himself by drinking orange juice laced with antifreeze. He spent 12 days in hospital. "His remorse has been overwhelming. It resulted in a suicide attempt at the earliest possibility, which in my submission is the ultimate expression of remorse."
The fact that Ramsay admitted to his offences - sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of obtaining the sexual services of someone under 18 and breach of trust in his position as a provincial court judge - should also be considered, Doust said. In doing so, Ramsay spared his victims from painful cross-examination at trial.
He also resigned immediately from office. "That reflects his sense of responsibility and for the victims, it took away some fear of retribution," Doust said. "They knew they'd never have to face him in court again." That won't come close to convincing aboriginal youth the justice system is fair and that their complaints are worth filing, said Nancy Tom, a native youth counsellor at In My Nation, a local outreach centre.
"There's just going to be no trust whatsoever," Tom said. "We have a hard time as workers getting our people to trust working with people like the Ministry Children and Families. This has just blown it right out the door."
Ernie Crey, an aboriginal leader with the Sto:lo Nation, travelled from Vancouver for the hearing and to offer to help get the girls off the streets before they end up addicted to drugs and working Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. "It's a horrible situation and we have to do something about it. The first step is for this court to hand down a tough sentence and show these girls it thinks their lives are worth protecting." Crey was among many aboriginal leaders who travelled to Prince George in northern B.C. to see Ramsay sentenced.
Native groups are demanding a public inquiry to probe wider concerns about the justice system's treatment of aboriginal people.
2004 Canadian Press
http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_judge20040525
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Judge's sentencing under scrutiny
WebPosted May 25 2004 12:52 PM PDT
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| PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - First Nations' leaders plan to attend next week's sentencing of a former B.C. judge for sex crimes involving aboriginal girls.
David Ramsay has pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving young aboriginal girls who'd appeared before him in Prince George Provincial Court.
Native leaders say they'll gather on the steps of the courthouse to demand justice in the case.
Former First Nations Summit leader Bill Wilson calls Ramsay's crimes "atrocious and racist.
"He repeats what we consider to be a history of abuse by authority – residential schools, priests, nuns – and he's probably going to get away with it."
Wilson says Ramsay deserves 25 year in jail. The Crown is asking for a five-year sentence.
- INDEPTH: First Nations in Canada
Former Sto:lo chief Ernie Crey whose sister Dawn was one of Vancouver's missing women, is also heading to Prince George.
He says he wants to show aboriginal kids living on the street that their leaders care about them.
"We won't stand by any longer and watch our children exploited and abused," he says.
The Native Women's Association of Canada will also be at the sentencing hearing, as will the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
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Ex-judge's decisions under scrutiny by BC Liberal Attorney General Geoff Plant
VICTORIA - B.C. Liberal Attorney General Geoff Plant says his ministry plans to review the rulings, of a former judge who has pleaded guilty to sex-related charges. David William Ramsay appeared in court on Prince George on Monday, pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of buying sex from minors and one count of breach of trust. In an agreed-to statement of facts, Ramsay admitted to buying sex from girls as young as 12 – teenage girls who had appeared before him in court.
B.C. Liberal Attorney General Geoff Plant says he can't say much about the case involving the ex-judge – but did say he wants to know more about Ramsay's judicial decisions. "I have asked that question and don't have an answer yet, in part because the ministry does want to ensure that we allow the process that's before the court to continue to conclusion." Plant says he'll able to say more after Ramsay is sentenced – which is scheduled to happen in June. Ramsay is free on bail until then.
http://www.afn.ca/Media/2004/may/may-5-04.htm
The Assembly of First Nations and the Native Women’s Association of Canada stated today that former British Columbia Judge David William Ramsay deserves “the harshest sentence possible” and are calling for a full public inquiry into the administration of justice as it affects Aboriginal women who have experienced sexual assault.
http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ramsayafn05072004
Throw the book at judge, AFN demands
WebPosted May 7 2004 11:55 AM PDT
PRINCE GEORGE - The Assembly of First Nations is joining other aboriginal groups in calling for the "harshest sentence possible" for a former Prince George judge who pleaded guilty to charges of sex crimes and breach of trust.
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/features/onlineextras/story.html?id=0c7cec2d-7918-4cf8-a74a-97be6f943fd9 B.C. judge admits to preying on teen prostitutes
Ian Mulgrew
Ottawa Citizen
May 4, 2004
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Former judge David William Ramsay whispered “guilty” five times Monday stunning the opening day of his B.C. Supreme Court trial by admitting he led a sordid, violent double life - buying sex from girls as young as 12 and threatening them if they dared tell.
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://www.langleytimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=47&cat=48&id=233068&more=
The photos and video coverage show an expression incongruous with the proceedings. Witnessing the former judge's beguiling smile on exiting the courthouse, one was dumbstruck at the apparent inappropriateness.
Whether you believe this was the look of a man trying to put a brave face on a terrible situation, the vacant gaze of a man who has no real grasp of what harm he's done or something altogether different, we're sure the image of that countenance will not soon fade from memory.
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/05/03/ramsay040503
Former B.C. judge admits to beating, sexually abusing teens
Last Updated Mon, 03 May 2004 22:28:14 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A former B.C. court judge has stunned friends and colleagues by confessing he is guilty of sexually assaulting teenage girls, including one count of causing bodily harm.
National Post
May 4, 2004
Ex-judge pleads guilty to preying on troubled girls
B.C. Provincial Court
Bought Sex from youth who appeared in his courtroom
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. Former judge David William Ramsay whispered "guilty" five times yesterday, admitting he led a double life buying sex from girls as young as 12 and threatening them if they dared tell. His wife sat grim-faced in B.C. Supreme Court, eyes glued to the court's scarlet carpet, while Ramsay stood in the prisoner's dock and acknowledged a series of facts that bespoke a tortured and repressed personality.
By day, Ramsay was a provincial court judge, handling everything from family affairs to the most serious crimes, and a seemingly upstanding citizen. By night, he preyed upon girls who had appeared before him. One 16-year-old had her head smashed off a dashboard, was raped and left abandoned bleeding in the middle of the night with the "decent, caring" Ramsay's taunts ringing in her ear. She still has nightmares about it. paid her $80 for “oral sex and a lay.”
“That judge is one of my johns," she remembered crowing to her mother during child-welfare proceedings in front of him. Later, he picked her up and said she'd been "a bad girl." He then paid her $150 to "simulate aggressive sex," which included spanking her. But he began to go too far and the girl was forced to bolt. He yelled as she fled: "Go ahead. Tell someone. No one will believe you. Once a whore, always a whore:'
Along with Ramsay's other victims, she sat in the front row of the half-filled public gallery. Until the unexpected change of plea, they were steeling themselves to relive ugly times each has tried to bury.
Special Crown prosecutor Dennis Murray said Ramsay's offences demanded between three and five years' imprisonment "He was uniquely in a position to know the extent of the damage he could cause," Mr. Murray said. Ramsay's lawyer, Leonard Doust said he would argue for a shorter prison term. B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm will hear sentencing submissions on June 1. Ramsay is free on $50,000 bail but under virtual house arrest while awaiting sentencing. The agreed-upon-statement of facts, read to the court by Mr. Murray, unveiled a pattern of aberrant behaviour and misconduct by Ramsay.
He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm to one girl, three counts of buying sex from three other girls under the age of 18 and one charge of breach of trust. By court order, the women can be identified only by letters - A, J, H, and C. Stays of proceeding were entered 'on five related" charges.
Mr. Doust tried to minimize Ramsay's crimes as the "manifestation of a significant character flaw.’ He suggested Ramsay could not mount a full defence because of a faulty memory. "He accepts responsibility;' the Vancouver lawyer told the court. "He cannot deny it." the bench in 1991, received reports on these girls outlining their ages, their psychiatric histories, their troubled backgrounds – the degree to which each was in crisis. The girls all came from depressingly similar backgrounds - their parents were dysfunctional, violent and poor. They too were abused sexually and physically.
In the first case, "J" was a 16 year-old working the streets in late 1999 when Ramsay picked her up, drove her outside of town and offered her $150 for sex. Ramsay followed, pinned her to the ground and raped her while calling her a "whore.' He left her naked, weeping and drove off tossing her clothes out the window.
In early 2000, the girl entered rehab and cleaned up her life. As a result, she tried to regain custody of her son, who had been seized by the child welfare authorities because of her addiction and prostitution problems. On May 28, 2002, when she appeared in court to regain custody of her son, the judge was Ramsay. Although he granted the order, the young woman bolted from the room and broke down on the courthouse steps."How dare he smile at me and say how well I was doing after what he did to me,' she sobbed to social workers.
She told them what had happened and they pursued her allegations. The investigation "snowballed" from there, Mr. Murray said.
Can West News Service
(The Vancouver Sun)
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://mail.canada.com/jump/http://keancanada.blog-city.com
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://mail.canada.com/jump/http://forthesakeofthechildren.blog-city.com
Judge pleads guilty to sex charges
WebPosted May 3 2004 07:25 PM PDT
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - In a surprise development, a former Provincial Court judge in Prince George has pleaded guilty to four sex charges and one charge of breach of trust.
David William Ramsay stood in court and admitted to one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of buying sex from minors and one count of breach of trust relating to the duties of his office.
Five other charges against the former judge have been stayed.
The four victims – young aboriginal women – were 12 to 16 years old when the crimes against them were committed. They had all appeared before Ramsay in court.
According to an agreed-to statement of facts presented in court by special prosecutor Dennis Murray, Ramsay bought sex from girls aged 12, 14, 15 and 16 – who had appeared before him in court.
On different occasions, he slapped them, chased them, simulated rough sex or left them naked on the highway.
He slammed one girl's head against the dashboard until she bled before sexually assaulting her – because she asked him to use a condom.
He then called her a whore and smiled, the court was told.
Another girl was left naked near the highway and threatened with death if she told anyone.
Murray says the ex-judge knew the girls were young and vulnerable – living on the street and sexually abused by others – and that some were suicidal and abusing drugs.
As the special prosecutor noted, Ramsay was in a unique position to know the damage he would cause.
The Crown is asking for a five-year jail sentence for the former judge who is free on bail. He will be sentenced on June 1.
- CBC reporter Betsy Trumpener spoke about the case earlier, on Daybreak North
Ramsay is a long-time Prince George resident, who worked as a lawyer until he was appointed to the Provincial Court bench in 1991. He had been the focus of an RCMP investigation for four years. And in 2002, the Chief Judge removed Ramsay from the bench after learning he was under investigation.
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_judge_pm20040503
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_judge20030313
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?r=-1116325838&filename=bc_ramsay20040503
B.C. judge charged
Canadian Press
Prince George, B.C. - A former provincial court judge was charged Thursday with nine sex-related counts involving juveniles, as well as one count of breach of public duty. David Ramsay of Prince George appeared in provincial court here to face charges in a direct indictment filed by a special prosecutor. The charges against Mr. Ramsay include obtaining for money the sexual services of a person under 18, sexual assault, sexual assault involving threats or a weapon and sexual touching and invitation to sexual touching of a person under 14.
The charges involve four complainants and include incidents between June 1992 and February 2000. A publication ban protects the victims' identity. A date for the judge-alone trial in B.C. Supreme Court will be set May 23. A direct indictment dispenses with the need for a preliminary hearing. "The principle reason for a direct indictment is that this accused used to sit on the provincial court," said special prosecutor Dennis Murray. "It would be very uncomfortable for the provincial court to hear the case, even at a preliminary hearing."
The ex-judge has been released with bail conditions, which were also subject to a publication ban. Mr. Murray was appointed Oct. 9, 2002, a week after the serious crime unit of the RCMP's Prince George detachment informed the criminal justice branch of its investigation of the allegations since 1999. Mr. Ramsay was a sitting judge during most of the three-year-probe but resigned before Mr. Murray was given the file.
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030313.wjudg313/BNStory/National
Pedo BC Judge Charged
Crime 03/14/03
http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://www.poe-news.com/stories.php?poeurlid=19178
A former provincial court judge was charged Thursday with nine sex-related counts involving juveniles, as well as one count of breach of public duty. David Ramsay of Prince George appeared in provincial court here to face charges in a direct indictment filed by a special prosecutor. The charges against Mr. Ramsay include obtaining for money the sexual services of a person under 18, sexual assault, sexual assault involving threats or a weapon and sexual touching and invitation to sexual touching of a person under 14.
WebPosted Mar 13 2003 07:23 PM PST
British Columbia Online News - CBC.CA
Judge facing sex charges
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A series of 10 sex charges have been laid against a former judge in B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George David Ramsay drives away David Ramsay has been charged with obtaining sexual services for money from people under the age of 18, sexual touching of a person under 14, sexual assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual assault accompanied by threats or use of a weapon.
There are four alleged victims. The former judge was in court on Thursday as the charges were read. He entered through a side door, and sat with his lawyer - his hands clasped in front of him - as the charges were read. He has elected trial by judge alone. He has now been released on bail.
The conditions are covered by a publication ban. Ramsay is a long-time Prince George resident, who worked as a lawyer until he was appointed to the Provincial Court bench in 1991. He had been the focus of an RCMP investigation for four years.
When the judiciary learned Ramsey was under investigation last July, the Chief Judge removed Ramsay from the bench. Ramsey later resigned. The police report went to special prosecutor Dennis Murray last fall. After reviewing the report for five months, Murray recommended charges be laid.
Monday, May 03, 2004
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A former provincial court judge pleaded guilty Monday to five sex charges involving young girls. David Ramsay admitted to one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of obtaining sexual services of someone under the age of 18 for money and one count of breach of trust relating to the duties of his office.
The charges involved four girls under the age of 18 in Prince George between 1992 and 2001. He had faced a total of 10 counts, including sexual assault involving threats or a weapon. The other charges were stayed. Ramsay resigned in October 2002, the same day a special prosecutor was appointed to review the police investigation.
The case was being heard by Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm of the B.C. Supreme Court, who replaced a judge that had been selected earlier. Dohm had begun a painstaking process earlier this year to find a trial judge who didn't bear a connection, however slight, to Ramsay. Sentencing is set for June 1 in Prince George, with the Crown seeking a term of three to five years in prison. Ramsay remains free on bail.
The Canadian Press 2004http://web.archive.org/web/20051212054241/http://www.online.ie/news/viewer.adp?article=3163126
Report says Gardaí withheld information on disgraced judge online.ie 2004-10-03 10:20:02+01
Judge Brian Curtin was on a list of men who had allegedly accessed child porn on the internet before being appointed to the Circuit Court, according to a report in today's Sunday Independent.
The report said the Gardaí failed to tell the Minister for Justice that Judge Curtin was on a list given to them by Interpol in August 2001, three months before his appointment as a Circuit Court judge.
Gardaí confirmed they did not pass on any information to Minister John O'Donoghue about the appearance of Judge Curtin's name on the list of 100 Irish men who had used credit cards to access an American-run paedophile internet site.
The information comes from a statement issued by current Justice Minister Michael McDowell, but according to the report, its significance was lost in "the highly-charged atmosphere" of the launch of the European and
local elections.
The report also claimed that neither Minister O'Donoghue nor his Department sought information on Judge Curtin's suitability before he was recommended by the Cabinet for appointment to the Circuit Court.