Maple Leaf Gardens sex abuser Gordon Stuckless convicted of gross indecency

During his latest trial, Gordon Stuckless testified that he could never commit
buggery because he himself had been raped as a child.

Gordon Stuckless, the man at the centre of the Maple Leaf Gardens abuse scandal, was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of gross indecency, but was acquitted of two counts of buggery, stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted two boys in the 1960s and 70s.

Ontario Court Justice Mara Greene delivered the verdict following a trial in which defence lawyer Ari Goldkind argued the charges of buggery did not fit a clear pattern his client had of abusing adolescent boys.

Goldkind said buggery — an old charge referring to sodomy — is "radically, significantly different" and does not fit that pattern.

"This is not viewed as a win," given the number of victims, Goldkind told reporters shortly after the verdict.

He said the Crown may try to have Stuckless declared a dangerous offender, but he said defence lawyers would fight that designation "vigorously," because his client has been "in the community for 13 years as a law-abiding citizen."  (more...)

Maple Leaf Gardens sex abuser Gordon Stuckless convicted of gross indecency