- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,179
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has been named in four separate lawsuits seeking $8 million in damages for sexual abuse that former students claim to have suffered at the hands of gym teacher and basketball coach Donald Greenham.
Greenham, 75, died of a heart attack earlier this month at his home in Addison, near Brockville, two months before he was to stand trial on 54 counts of indecent assault, gross indecency and issuing threats.
The charges involved 14 former students, some of them boys’ basketball players at Bell High School.
Although the trial was cancelled and charges withdrawn after Greenham’s death, four of the criminal complainants filed statements of claim this week.
The lawsuits, which have not been tested in court, name both Greenham’s estate and the school board as defendants.
The suits allege the board was negligent and may have ignored reports about the teacher’s misconduct. At a minimum, the claims contend, school officials failed in their duty to protect students from Greenham.
“We’ll be investigating what the school board knew: if there was direct knowledge or if there were any red flags,” said lawyer Aaron Lealess, who is representing the four plaintiffs. “We’re just beginning our investigation.”
In a written statement, the Ottawa-Carleton Public School Board said it is “very concerned about the serious issues” alleged in the lawsuits. “Given the legal action, we cannot comment in detail, but can say that we have no record of concerns regarding (Greenham’s) behaviour,” spokeswoman Sharlene Hunter said. “We are mindful that these charges have not been proven in the courts. This is a difficult situation for everyone, and our thoughts are with those directly affected by this case.”
Two of the plaintiffs — their names remain protected by a criminal court publication ban — spoke to this newspaper and levelled allegations that paint a dark, disturbing background to Greenham’s celebrated role as Bell High School’s basketball coach in the late 1970s and early 80s.
His teams won three senior regional championships and established the school as a basketball powerhouse. Greenham stepped down as basketball coach in 1982 for unknown reasons.
Sam Jones (a pseudonym) said he was a “quiet and shy kid” in the 1970s when he was a student at Bayshore Public School, where he met Greenham. “Everyone loved him,” Jones said. “He seemed to be super nice, coached every sport.”
Jones played a raft of sports, including basketball. The first time he was abused by Greenham, he alleged, the incident occurred in the teacher’s office near the gymnasium. He was then in Grade 6. “He’s older and you trust him, and you do what he says,” Jones said.
Jones alleged the abuse continued for five years, and sometimes occurred during out-of-town basketball tournaments. “If you were away on a trip, you just never knew,” he said. “You were just scared the entire weekend thinking you might get called into his hotel room.”
He didn’t tell anyone about the events. “As a youngster, I looked up to all the older guys and they all loved Greenham. So who was going to believe me? I didn’t know it was happening to other people.”
Jones lost interest in high school and quit basketball. “It changed everything,” he said. “It was terrible: That sums it up pretty good.”
About 20 years ago, Jones filed a criminal complaint against Greenham in connection with an incident during a high school basketball tournament in southern Ontario. Ottawa police, however, told him he would have to file his complaint in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred so he didn’t pursue the matter.
Ottawa police investigators contacted him several years ago when other criminal complainants started coming forward in the Greenham case.
During his lifetime, Jones said, he has battled addictions, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, and has lived on disability benefits for the past 27 years.
Plaintiff Joe Smith (a pseudonym) was new to Bayshore Public School in the mid-1970s so he joined the basketball team in a bid to make friends. “I walked up to Greenham and said, ‘I want to play basketball,’” Smith recalled. “He (Greenham) was very gregarious. He would put his arm around you — he was 6’3” or 6’4,” a very imposing figure — and right away he pulls you in.”
Although he had never played organized basketball until that point, Smith turned out to be a natural at the sport. Basketball became central to his identity.
Greenham worked as a guidance counsellor, physical education teacher and basketball coach at Bayshore, but in about 1977, he also arranged to coach boys’ basketball at Bell High School. Smith went to Bell after graduating from Bayshore.
Smith said he was abused once by Greenham during a basketball road trip in Grade 12. The team, he said, often travelled to out-of-town tournaments, and Greenham assigned players to their rooms. They slept two to a bed.
At a tournament in eastern Ontario, Smith said he was assigned to Greenham’s room with two other players; he was told he’d be sharing a bed with the coach.
He was molested, Smith alleged, with two other teammates sleeping in the same room. “I was in total shock,” he said. “I didn’t tell anyone. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know where to turn. I thought if I just internalized it, it will go away … You don’t want your whole world to disappear. We were just kids who loved playing basketball. ”
Smith said Greenham once threatened to take retribution on his family if he ever spoke about the incident. Smith said he didn’t discuss the events with anyone until about four years ago as rumours swirled among his former classmates that Greenham was under police investigation.
Smith said the incident shattered his ability to trust people, and has affected every relationship in his life. He has never been able to deal with authority figures.
“This thing, it grows in you like a tumour,” he said. “You bury it down, and then it forces its way out. You hit your 50s and you can’t control it anymore … I live day-to-day. It’s a survival thing, every day.”
Before he died, Greenham steadfastly maintained his innocence and was preparing to contest the criminal charges against him in court.
Reached at her home, Greenham’s widow, Jennifer, the administrator of his estate, said she did not want to comment on the lawsuits.
查看原文...
Greenham, 75, died of a heart attack earlier this month at his home in Addison, near Brockville, two months before he was to stand trial on 54 counts of indecent assault, gross indecency and issuing threats.
The charges involved 14 former students, some of them boys’ basketball players at Bell High School.
Although the trial was cancelled and charges withdrawn after Greenham’s death, four of the criminal complainants filed statements of claim this week.
The lawsuits, which have not been tested in court, name both Greenham’s estate and the school board as defendants.
The suits allege the board was negligent and may have ignored reports about the teacher’s misconduct. At a minimum, the claims contend, school officials failed in their duty to protect students from Greenham.
“We’ll be investigating what the school board knew: if there was direct knowledge or if there were any red flags,” said lawyer Aaron Lealess, who is representing the four plaintiffs. “We’re just beginning our investigation.”
In a written statement, the Ottawa-Carleton Public School Board said it is “very concerned about the serious issues” alleged in the lawsuits. “Given the legal action, we cannot comment in detail, but can say that we have no record of concerns regarding (Greenham’s) behaviour,” spokeswoman Sharlene Hunter said. “We are mindful that these charges have not been proven in the courts. This is a difficult situation for everyone, and our thoughts are with those directly affected by this case.”
Two of the plaintiffs — their names remain protected by a criminal court publication ban — spoke to this newspaper and levelled allegations that paint a dark, disturbing background to Greenham’s celebrated role as Bell High School’s basketball coach in the late 1970s and early 80s.
His teams won three senior regional championships and established the school as a basketball powerhouse. Greenham stepped down as basketball coach in 1982 for unknown reasons.
Sam Jones (a pseudonym) said he was a “quiet and shy kid” in the 1970s when he was a student at Bayshore Public School, where he met Greenham. “Everyone loved him,” Jones said. “He seemed to be super nice, coached every sport.”
Jones played a raft of sports, including basketball. The first time he was abused by Greenham, he alleged, the incident occurred in the teacher’s office near the gymnasium. He was then in Grade 6. “He’s older and you trust him, and you do what he says,” Jones said.
Jones alleged the abuse continued for five years, and sometimes occurred during out-of-town basketball tournaments. “If you were away on a trip, you just never knew,” he said. “You were just scared the entire weekend thinking you might get called into his hotel room.”
He didn’t tell anyone about the events. “As a youngster, I looked up to all the older guys and they all loved Greenham. So who was going to believe me? I didn’t know it was happening to other people.”
Jones lost interest in high school and quit basketball. “It changed everything,” he said. “It was terrible: That sums it up pretty good.”
About 20 years ago, Jones filed a criminal complaint against Greenham in connection with an incident during a high school basketball tournament in southern Ontario. Ottawa police, however, told him he would have to file his complaint in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred so he didn’t pursue the matter.
Ottawa police investigators contacted him several years ago when other criminal complainants started coming forward in the Greenham case.
During his lifetime, Jones said, he has battled addictions, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, and has lived on disability benefits for the past 27 years.
Plaintiff Joe Smith (a pseudonym) was new to Bayshore Public School in the mid-1970s so he joined the basketball team in a bid to make friends. “I walked up to Greenham and said, ‘I want to play basketball,’” Smith recalled. “He (Greenham) was very gregarious. He would put his arm around you — he was 6’3” or 6’4,” a very imposing figure — and right away he pulls you in.”
Although he had never played organized basketball until that point, Smith turned out to be a natural at the sport. Basketball became central to his identity.
Greenham worked as a guidance counsellor, physical education teacher and basketball coach at Bayshore, but in about 1977, he also arranged to coach boys’ basketball at Bell High School. Smith went to Bell after graduating from Bayshore.
Smith said he was abused once by Greenham during a basketball road trip in Grade 12. The team, he said, often travelled to out-of-town tournaments, and Greenham assigned players to their rooms. They slept two to a bed.
At a tournament in eastern Ontario, Smith said he was assigned to Greenham’s room with two other players; he was told he’d be sharing a bed with the coach.
He was molested, Smith alleged, with two other teammates sleeping in the same room. “I was in total shock,” he said. “I didn’t tell anyone. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know where to turn. I thought if I just internalized it, it will go away … You don’t want your whole world to disappear. We were just kids who loved playing basketball. ”
Smith said Greenham once threatened to take retribution on his family if he ever spoke about the incident. Smith said he didn’t discuss the events with anyone until about four years ago as rumours swirled among his former classmates that Greenham was under police investigation.
Smith said the incident shattered his ability to trust people, and has affected every relationship in his life. He has never been able to deal with authority figures.
“This thing, it grows in you like a tumour,” he said. “You bury it down, and then it forces its way out. You hit your 50s and you can’t control it anymore … I live day-to-day. It’s a survival thing, every day.”
Before he died, Greenham steadfastly maintained his innocence and was preparing to contest the criminal charges against him in court.
Reached at her home, Greenham’s widow, Jennifer, the administrator of his estate, said she did not want to comment on the lawsuits.
查看原文...
