Girl abused by Alberta MLA a pillar of courage

There is one very brave young woman in Alberta whose courage will hopefully inspire others to speak up about sexual abuse inflicted by people who are so powerful it seems impossible that they could eventually be toppled.

She can’t be identified because she was a 10-year-old child when the sexual abuse began. But her assailant is well known, a pillar of the community, the kind of person people turn to when they want to make things happen.

That’s because Don MacIntyre, 63, was the outspoken MLA for InnisfailSylvan Lake, which sits between Edmonton and Calgary. He is a religious man, who said he went into politics “to uphold historical values that make for strong families and well-knit communi- ties.” That was in 2015, about five years after he had regularly slipped into bed with the 10-year-old victim and sexually touched and massaged her, according to an agreed upon statement of facts presented in court.

MacIntyre waited until her mother was out of town and then told his young victim that this is what God wanted, that it would help prepare her to be a good wife. Were those the “historical values” he was talking about as a candidate? God forbid. Once elected, he sat with the official opposition, first with the Wildrose Party, which later morphed into the United Conservative Party. He held the lofty position of energy critic; he was even a member of the Rural Crime Task Force. He has an MBA and was an instructor in the renewable energy program at the well-regarded Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton. His credentials were outstanding. Who wouldn’t trust a man with such a record? A man who did so much for the community?

But he is now in prison for the next three years after pleading guilty last Friday in a Red Deer courtroom to sexual interference.

He would likely have carried on as an influential MLA, a frightening thought, if his young victim and her family had not decided to fight back.

During her impact statement, the victim said at first she didn’t understand that what had happened to her was wrong.

When it became clear to her that it was wrong, she thought it was her fault and the guilt she felt “was so heavy it hurt my chest.”

When MacIntyre stood for election in 2015, her pain and despair worsened.

“Everyone had his signs up,” she said. “His face was everywhere.”

When he won the election, she told her mother what had happened.

It’s hard to believe, but every day that MacIntyre served as an elected representative he was under investigation for a serious crime. He resigned in February 2018, after charges were laid.

Although she can’t be publicly identified, MacIntyre’s victim did speak to reporters on the steps of the courthouse after the sentencing.

What she had to say was beyond inspiring. She sounded nervous, but she spoke with confidence and explained how relieved she felt because she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

“It feels so good because forever he has been safe with his superiority, in his job, and in his position, in politics, in his position of power.”

As for MacIntyre, he still doesn’t sound that bothered by the whole affair. In court, he offered a brief apology to his victim and his family. And then he mentioned that his third wife, 77-yearold Megan MacIntyre, will have to tend to the farm alone while he is incarcerated, but “we will live life as best as possible” after he is released.

Just thinking about the crime MacIntyre committed against that child makes me furious.

But it’s almost as infuriating to know that an elected representative, who was entrusted with so much authority and good will, did not deserve any of it or the paycheque he received. Every day that he served as an MLA he was living a lie, betraying his constituents’ trust in him, making a mockery of his dedication to family and community.

That was a crime in itself. His victim knew that, and lived with that knowledge for a long time. Thank goodness she summoned the courage to speak out.