Saskatchewan settles with 2 wrongly accused in satanic rites case

Saskatchewan’s justice minister has apologized to two former policemen accused in the Martensville sexual abuse case, a bizarre miscarriage of justice in which nine people faced dozens of charges involving children.

A settlement announced on Tuesday also includes compensation of $285,000 for James Elstad and $175,000 for Edward Revesz.

“I think the [plaintiffs], quite rightly being innocent, wanted to see, and expected and deserved some expression both of regret this had happened and admission they were put through an ordeal … through no fault of their own,” Justice Minister Frank Quennell said.

After one of the most sensational criminal prosecutions in Saskatchewan history, the courts upheld only one charge against one person in the case, which was believed by investigators to be part of a satanic ritual.

Documents filed in subsequent lawsuits showed there were some questions about the investigation and children’s testimony even before the charges were laid in 1992.

Elstad and Revesz are among six people who sued the province, the Saskatoon police department and the now-disbanded Martensville police department.

The province has agreed to pay more than $1.3 million to settle all the lawsuits.

Quennell said he had no plans to call an inquiry into the case.

• Background: The Fifth Estate: Hell to Pay

Read Another Article

Judge visits commune: Sky Kingdom now resembles wasteland
Minister told to pay advertising charge for cross

Related News Articles Topic(s): Satanic and/or ritual abuse Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Satanic and/or ritual abuse Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog