Victims want court to see the Stuckless they know

Gordon Stuckless leaves Old City Hall court

TORONTO - They are shadows of the men they could have been.

In the excruciatingly long road to finally trying to declare Maple Leaf Gardens predator Gordon Stuckless a dangerous offender, two of his many victims take the stand at Old City Hall.

They are grown men now with minor criminal records borne of pain and stunted lives crippled by tortured memories. “I was a lost soul, you know?” one tries to explain.

And the man responsible sits before them, looking to anyone who doesn’t know better like a harmless grandfather in khaki pants and a green sweater. Has Stuckless left his monstrous ways behind him, as he insists? Or is he still so dangerous that he must be locked away for the end of his days?

From as early as 1965 to as late as 1987, Stuckless has admitted to abusing young and pubescent boys. As a volunteer hockey coach, teacher’s assistant and Leafs equipment handler, he preyed on the vulnerable, forcing them into disgusting sex acts to satisfy his perverse needs and threatening them with shame and disclosure if they dared tell anyone what he did.

His record is a long and devastating one  (more...)

Victims want court to see the Stuckless they know