Animal Advocates Watchdog

Pedophile let loose by courts, female rancher is put in jail *LINK*

October 1, 2010

By ROBERT KOOPMANS
Daily News Staff Reporter

Perhaps it’s to be expected, with any human system, that things occasionally drift out of whack.

That would include the justice system, it seems, based on events in Kamloops provincial court in the past few days.

Now generally, I’d agree it’s not fair to compare court proceedings from one day to the next. The fact is, however, such comparisons are inevitable.

And in this instance, concepts of natural justice will make everyone ask — how can a convicted pedophile who is once again showing signs of sexual perversion get out on bail, while a 60-year-old woman is locked up for telling her son how to care for the pets she cherishes?

Bryan Fehr, a pedophile who once tried to buy sex with a toddler, was granted bail by provincial court judge Stephen Harrison on Wednesday, despite the fact the man had taken up in Kelowna under a false name and was showing the same disturbing early warning signs that characterize his particular perversion and his past crimes.

Carole Haughton, who is prohibited from having care or control of pets and animals as she waits for her trial on animal cruelty charges, was denied bail Tuesday by Judge Stella Frame, after the court heard how the rancher was talking to her son and a caretaker about how they should look after her dogs and sheep.

Both Haughton and Fehr were in court for the same reason — breach of a court order. Fehr skipped out on a mandatory sex offender counselling session, a condition of his probation. Haughton was on bail with terms she not have “care or control” of animals, when she discussed her pets with her son. The woman was detained, the man was not.

Now, before we weigh the horrifying contradiction that arises from examining one result against the other, let’s look at each case individually. In both incidents — regardless of what happened in the other — it is easy to argue the judges made the wrong decisions.

Bail hearings are not trials; the considerations are much different. Essentially, judges look at two factors — will an accused person show up for a trial and will they commit further offences if they are out on bail?

Judge Frame clearly believed Haughton posed a risk of reoffending, while Judge Harrison was of the opinion strict conditions were enough to ensure Fehr would not.

Were their views accurate? Was their reasoning reasonable?

With a stern warning and direction, Haughton probably would not have tried to give her son further instructions about how to feed the dogs and sheep on her Knutsford ranch, despite how unworkable and unnecessary such a term even seems.

(Ironically, at her bail hearing, the Crown suggested Haughton should be he held accountable for the poor condition of some sheep on her property, even though she’s not been permitted there for several weeks and is apparently, forbidden to discuss their care. How Kafkaesque is that?)

It is also easy to argue Fehr’s bail conditions will not keep him out of trouble. He’s shown himself to be a conniving devious man who accepts little responsibility for his past criminal actions. He was buying “school-girl porn” and asking his new girlfriend to dress up like a child, complete with pigtails, for sex. He talked to her about his desire for children.

It all strongly suggests Fehr wants to indulge himself, and we should all be worried about what a man like Fehr wants. How hard will it be for him to find ways around these newly imposed controls, and place himself in a situation that benefits his deviance?

How ever we judge the decisions individually, measure them against each other and the magnitude of the injustice increases exponentially. As one of my friends suggested dryly — at least a handful of sheep and dogs are safe. Who the heck knows about our children.

Granted, our justice system isn’t perfect. We should not expect every judge to make the perfect decision every time. In this instance, however, two questionable decisions multiply together to create a contrast so untenable, it bears tremendous potential to destroy our faith in the administration of justice.

Despite all that, there is still some hope.

Canadian justice has the means to see errors corrected. Lawyers can seek review of such things as bail decisions, and I hope both Crown and defence do what they can to bring these events into more meaningful alignment.

Justice should never be permitted to lose sight of the bigger pictures.

Robert Koopmans covers the courts for The Daily News. He can be reached at 250-372-2331, or by e-mail at rkoopmans@kamloopsnews.ca.

Messages In This Thread

Pedophile let loose by courts, female rancher is put in jail *LINK*
Comments...
Public oversight of the BC SPCA, a wealthy, powerful, private, self funded police force is warranted *LINK*
Robert, thank you very, very much for reporting on this important issue
Why does the SPCA want Carol Haughton kept in jail until the outcome of the cruelty trial? What is their agenda? *LINK*

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