Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Whistleblower has history of suing justice officials
Seeks $67 million from judge, husband, their former law firm
The man at the centre of a Manitoba legal sex scandal which has forced the temporary reassignment of a judge has a long litigious history with provincial justice officials, a Free Press analysis has shown.
Alexander Chapman, a computer programmer, made headlines across Canada this week by accusing Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas of sexual harassment and her husband Jack King of professional misconduct, and by filing a $67-million lawsuit against them and their former law firm.
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In the process, he revealed Douglas had posed naked in photographs which her husband then posted online and used to try to recruit Chapman to have sex with her.
Chapman, 44, says he decided to go public with the allegations -- and breach a confidentiality clause he signed in 2003 in exchange for $25,000 from King -- because he believes his past dealings with Douglas and King mean he is being discriminated against by the justice system.
In his lawsuit, Chapman claims a lawsuit he filed against the Winnipeg Police Service was unfairly influenced by one of Douglas's judicial associates.
Court documents obtained Thursday by the Free Press show Chapman initially filed the lawsuit against police in 2002, seeking $1.1 million. He claimed he had been wrongly arrested and falsely imprisoned after his wife at the time called police to report he had assaulted her in September 2001. Chapman claims his spouse suffered from "panic attacks" which prompted her to make the false accusation, which she quickly withdrew in a second call to police. However, two officers arrived at his home and arrested Chapman for assault under the province's zero-tolerance legislation.
Chapman said police also accused him "of associating with drug dealers."
The assault charge was ultimately stayed by the Crown in November 2001. Chapman, through his lawyer Ian Histed, described himself as a "university-educated man with no prior criminal record." He said police acted with "wilful blindness" and caused him "embarrassment, humiliation and great emotional strain," along with the subsequent breakup of his marriage.
Police offered a different version in their affidavits, saying his wife privately confirmed to them that Chapman had assaulted her by grabbing her arm during an argument, leaving them no choice but to arrest him.
In a letter filed with the courts earlier this year, Histed said his client would accept "no less than $100,000."
Chapman filed another suit against police in 2003, which has not been settled and remains before the courts. In it, he names his ex-wife, four police officers and several senior justice officials. He is seeking $5.5 million. The file was not available Thursday and no other details are known.
Chapman also filed a complaint with the Law Enforcement Review Agency in 2002 which was ultimately dismissed by a judge in 2007 based on a lack of merit. Chapman had accused a police officer of misconduct after he walked into the Public Safety Building to report himself as the victim of a possible fraud.
According to a transcript, Chapman and the officer got into a heated argument which included Chapman telling the officer to take his report because "I'm a taxpayer." The officer told Chapman "you don't pay my salary," prompting Chapman to reply "I make a lot of money." The officer then said "legally or illegally," which Chapman reported to LERA.
Court records show Chapman was found guilty in 1993 of hiring a man to set another estranged wife's Kingston Crescent house on fire, causing $100,000 damage. Chapman -- then going by the name of Lenard Quaccoo -- was convicted of arson, theft and uttering threats to kill.
Chapman said this week he has since obtained a pardon for the offence, meaning it has been wiped off his criminal record.
www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 3, 2010 A5
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