Parole expected today for pedophile Ont. judge imposes concurrent jail term

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This article was published 03/07/2009 (6182 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KENORA, Ont. — Despite being found guilty of seven more sexual assault-related charges in a northern Ontario court Thursday, convicted pedophile Ralph Rowe is expected to be freed from prison.

Rowe, who was serving a three-year sentence for similar charges when his sixth prosecution began in April, was scheduled to be paroled today.

The only obstacle before him would have been an additional jail term to be served at the conclusion of the current sentence.

Instead, Superior Court Justice Erwin Stach imposed a one-year term to be served concurrently, leaving Rowe’s initial parole date intact. He said “serial prosecution” over the years has resulted in a harsh sentence on its own.

Rowe was found guilty in the Kenora court Thursday of six new counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault dating back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. That’s when he worked as an Anglican minister and Scout leader in remote First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario.

When the trial began, Rowe faced 21 charges — three sexual assault and 18 indecent assault — all allegedly involving First Nations boys under the age of 12.

But six charges were withdrawn at the outset of trial when complainants backed out. Four more were acquitted after the complainant left the courtroom mid-testimony, and another two were dropped when the complainant didn’t appear in court.

Of the nine charges eventually tried, Rowe was found not guilty of two — sexual assault and indecent assault.

When handing down his sentence, Stach said while Rowe is a practised and articulate speaker who testified at length, his answers failed to persuade.

“I noted a pervasive tendency on his part to minimize his involvement or culpability not only in respect of multiple charges to which he had previously entered pleas, but also respecting charges on which he had been found guilty at trial,” Stach said.

“Many of his utterances and after-the-fact explanations were ardently made but they are ultimately self-serving and unconvincing. “

“He has a masterful talent for rationalization.”

First convicted in 1988, Rowe has been prosecuted six times for a string of sexual assaults across the region. He was first sentenced to 18 months, then six years in 1994 and is currently in custody on a 2007 ruling.

In total, Rowe has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years, having already served seven.

In his sentencing submissions, Crown attorney Peter Keen referenced victim impact statements. He told the court of multiple suicide attempts and lifelong pain, but noted he met his objective of offering the victims a chance to face their accuser in open court. Defence council Robert Sinding said Rowe is hoping to return to his church community in Surrey, B.C.

— The Canadian Press