Witness Excused At Inquiry?????

the inquiry

Cornwall Public Inquiry

Police Witness Excused At Inquiry Cornwall News AM 1220 February 25, 2008 — A key Cornwall police witness will not testify at the Cornwall Public Inquiry. The commissioner has excused Heidi Sebalj from taking the stand due to medical reasons. She's the one who was responsible for investigating David Silmser's allegation against a city priest. Silmser was offered a $32,000 settlement by the church in the early 1990s after bringing allegations forward. After looking at a doctor's report, Commissioner Normand Glaude says Sebalj should not take the stand. The matter was a bit of a surprise as Sebalj was not scheduled to testify this week.

City police investigator won't testify at inquiry Cornwall Standard Freeholder 25 February 2008 Cornwall (Staff) The former Cornwall police officer who handled the allegations of a number of abuse victims, including David Silmser, will not be taking the stand at the Cornwall Public Inquiry. Inquiry commissioner Normand Glaude excused Heidi Sebalj from testifying after receiving a psychologist's report on her mental and physical health. Glaude said the report indicated Sebalj had been under medical care for the past 10 years and that testifying at the inquiry would have "some very adverse effects" upon her mental state. Sebalj was assigned as the principal investigator in 1992 when Silmser made his allegations of sexual abuse against Rev. Charles MacDonald and former probation officer Ken Seguin. City police concluded there was not enough evidence to charge MacDonald, though he was later charged by the OPP in 1996. Those charges were stayed in 2002 and MacDonald has always maintained his innocence. Seguin committed suicide in 1993 and was never charged. A 1994 OPP investigation into how the Cornwall force handled Silmser's complaints concluded that Sebalj was far too junior of an officer to handle the case. She had been scheduled to appear at the inquiry in the coming weeks.