B.C. Provincial Court Judge Ramsey

The Province, Tuesday, May 04, 2004, Pg A4


The Province, Tuesday, June 01, 2004


FORMER B.C. JUDGE SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS FOR SEX CRIMES AGAINST TEENS

Amy Carmichael
Canadian Press

June 1, 2004

Former provincial court judge David Ramsay was met by protests and jeers from First Nations groups when he appeared for a sentencing hearing for sex offences against young aboriginal girls Tuesday.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (CP) - A former provincial court judge who admitted to sexually assaulting teen prostitutes - one as young as 12 - was sentenced to seven years in jail Tuesday.

The sentence was two years longer than the Crown had been asking for, but won't likely appease members of the aboriginal community who were outraged by the crimes committed against aboriginal girls.

"The accused has already paid a price for his crime," Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm said.

"He lost his position as a respected judge, has the shame from his former colleagues and I fully expect his time in custody to be an exceptionally heavy burden."

Earlier in the day, David Ramsay told the court he needs help to keep him from unleashing the kind of abuse he turned on teen prostitutes he once sat in judgment of.

"I need treatment," Ramsay told his sentencing hearing on sex charges Tuesday.

"I look forward to receiving it so that I never engage in such harmful and destructive conduct again."

He couldn't give his four native victims - one was 12 when Ramsay assaulted her - any reason for his behaviour. Instead he spoke about the intense shame he now feels and his attempts to kill himself.

"I'm at a loss to explain to you, the complainants and my family, how I could work so hard in all other aspects of my life, yet fail by engaging in such disgraceful conduct," Ramsay said to the women he preyed upon.

They lined the front row of the courtroom, across the aisle from Ramsay's wife and daughter. One was obviously pregnant.

"I cannot undo that which has been done, nor take away the pain or the indignity I've contributed to their lives."

The four girls sobbed. Some held their faces in their hands while supporters rubbed the girls' backs and stroked their hair. At times they looked up in seeming disbelief.

The man was once a powerful authority figure in their lives who called them whores, paid them to perform demeaning sex acts and warned them no cop would ever believe their story.

On Tuesday, he apologized to them in front of his peers, ending nearly 10 years of abuse.

In 1995 Ramsay started driving the youths, who pack Prince George's infamous hooker strolls, to the woods near the town jail. The trails that criss-cross the area leading to the railway tracks are completely deserted at night.

According to a statement of facts agreed to by both sides, Ramsay paid the girls in this dark secluded place $60-$80 for oral sex without a condom or $150 for sex without a condom or for rough sex.

In one case, Ramsay picked up a 16-year-old girl and agreed to pay her $150 but flew into a rage when the girl still reached for a condom despite the higher price.

He admitted to smashing her head on the dashboard and grabbing her hair, pinning her to the ground and repeatedly calling her a whore. He slapped her in the face and then forced her to have sex with him.

He scared a 13-year-old girl with his demands and when she tried to run away he warned her no one would believe her if she reported him.

"Once a whore, always a whore," Ramsay spat.

The former judge dealt with three of the girls in his courtroom before and after his encounters with them. He had full access to their files and knew exactly how young and troubled they were.

But now Ramsay says he will be tormented for the rest of his life for what he did and he is so ashamed he has tried to kill himself.

His lawyer, Leonard Doust, asked Dohm to take that into account. He asked for a sentence of no more than four years.

The Crown asked for a sentence of between three and five years.

Doust said that shortly after learning about the investigation into his conduct, Ramsay waited until his wife left the house and broke into the gun cupboard.

"He couldn't find the key so he unscrewed hinges to the door, but there were no bullets inside," Doust told B.C. Supreme Court.

According to psychiatric reports, Ramsay still contemplates suicide. He recently tried to kill himself by drinking orange juice laced with antifreeze. He spent 12 days in hospital.

"His remorse has been overwhelming. It resulted in a suicide attempt at the earliest possibility, which in my submission is the ultimate expression of remorse."

The fact that Ramsay admitted to his offences - sexual assault causing bodily harm, three counts of obtaining the sexual services of someone under 18 and breach of trust in his position as a provincial court judge - should also be considered, Doust said.

In doing so, Ramsay spared his victims from painful cross-examination at trial.

He also resigned immediately from office.

"That reflects his sense of responsibility and for the victims, it took away some fear of retribution," Doust said.

"They knew they'd never have to face him in court again."

That won't come close to convincing aboriginal youth the justice system is fair and that their complaints are worth filing, said Nancy Tom, a native youth counselor at In My Nation, a local outreach center.

"There's just going to be no trust whatsoever," Tom said.

"We have a hard time as workers getting our people to trust working with people like the Ministry Children and Families. This has just blown it right out the door."

Ernie Crey, an aboriginal leader with the Sto:lo Nation, traveled from Vancouver for the hearing and to offer to help get the girls off the streets before they end up addicted to drugs and working Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

"It's a horrible situation and we have to do something about it. The first step is for this court to hand down a tough sentence and show these girls it thinks their lives are worth protecting."

Crey was among many aboriginal leaders who traveled to Prince George in northern B.C. to see Ramsay sentenced.

Native groups are demanding a public inquiry to probe wider concerns about the justice system's treatment of aboriginal people.

© The Canadian Press 2004