March 27, 2009
It's unlikely a convicted sex offender made up claims he victimized over 50 boys in New Brunswick, says a criminology professor.
Michael Boudreau is a criminology professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton and said it's rare to see that type of confession turn out to be false.
"We don't see it very often, which does lend some credibility to his statement."
In 2005 Christopher Robin Karasek pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assaults involving boys from Alberta.
Last week a judge in Edmonton declared him a dangerous offender after hearing he told police he victimized over 50 boys, most of them in New Brunswick.
Since then, police in Miramichi have been trying learn more about the confession and any possible link to the area.
Karasek pleaded guilty to two charges of invitation to sexual touching and committing an indecent act related to incidents that occurred in Miramichi in 1996 and 1997.
Police say he was a suspect in other sexual assaults but no charges were laid.
Miramichi Police Force Superintendent Randy Hansen said recent media reports told people to contact police if they were victims, but no one has come forward.
"To this point we haven't had anybody contact us."
Boudreau said you would expect someone to come forward with such a large number of supposed victims, but there may be victims who have repressed memories and society is not always accepting of people who have been victimized.
"I still think as a society we still tend to blame the victims."
Canada has had high profile cases like Clifford Olson who sexually assaulted and killed 11 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 18.
Boudreau said there are people like Olson who gloated about his crimes and liked the attention it brought him.
"He loved the attention and revelled in that."
There might be an element of that attention seeking in this case, Boudreau said, but he couldn't remember any cases like this where the claims turned out to be false.
"That doesn't mean to say that it hasn't happened."
Boudreau said there may be cases where false claims were made and police used discretion in their investigation so people never heard about them.
"These kinds of claims really shake a community."
If police or prison officials believe there was a crime committed they have an obligation to come forward, he said.
"You certainly can't leave this uninvestigated. You have to put it out there. "
Boudreau said the number of potential victims may seem high, but it is the type of offence that we don't know about unless victims come forward and if someone gets away with it in the beginning they feel a sense of invincibility and continue to exploit victims.
"It depends too on his access. Obviously many of these cases in the past, they tend to be institutional where you have children who are in a vulnerable situation."
We live in a society that likes to hear about incidents like this, while at the same time we don't, he said.
"Of course the other irony here too is the higher the figure the more attention society gives to it, which is also unfortunate."
Boudreau said he was not aware of many high profile cases like this in New Brunswick, but there may be some that may not be known to the public.
"The problem again is that we are aware of."
Although he can read studies about past cases, Boudreau said he didn't know how victims feel because he has never been in their situation.
"Being the victim and what they go through is something that I can't even begin to imagine."
Hansen said Miramichi police have been in contact with Edmonton police since the allegations came to light, but there isn't much more they can do at this point.
"One of our detectives has been in touch with their sex crimes unit and it's just a matter of waiting to see if we can get any more details."
At the time of the confession, Edmonton police tried to get more details about the alleged incidents, but Karasek wouldn't elaborate, he said.
"There were no details whatsoever to even determine which jurisdiction any of the incidents may have occurred in or any timeframe whatsoever."
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