Memorial for child molester to be held near site of abuses
‘It’s like they’re really thumbing their nose at us,’ one victim says, calling decision ‘total disrespect’
Convicted child molester Owen Slingerland will be given a memorial service at a church in East Gwillimbury, down the road from where he abused at least four young boys, a gesture some of his victims oppose.
Slingerland was convicted in 2013 on four counts of indecent assault for fondling and masturbating boys, including the sons of his best friend. He died last week after battling heart trouble.
His memorial service will be held at Queensville United Church in East Gwillimbury on Monday.
Will Willitts, one of the boys Slingerland abused, said the decision showed “a total disrespect and disregard for male survivors of sexual abuse.”
“It’s like they’re really thumbing their nose at us,” he said. “How are we going to live with peace when he’s getting what he wants, when he’s getting a full salute from the church on the way out?”
A prominent doctor and leading citizen in Mount Albert, Slingerland was barred from the local United Church parish after his conviction.
For much of his life, however, he was a member in good standing at the church.
Willitts described to the Star a ritual in which the doctor, in his capacity as scout master, would order boys to line up in the church basement and await “checkups” that he said were really excuses for Slingerland to play with their genitals.
“He used to fondle me and grope me after service,” Willitts said.
In an email to the minister of Mount Albert United Church last week, Willitts said he would be upset if the church held Slingerland’s funeral.
Leslie Sedore, the minister, sent a “cryptic” reply that didn’t take a position on the location of the funeral, according to Willitts.
Mount Albert United Church could not immediately be reached for comment.
Robin Roberts, a secretary at Queensville, declined to offer an explanation for allowing the Slingerland family to hold their service in the church.
“I’ve been instructed to simply say, ‘No comment,’ ” she said.
In an emailed statement, Rev. David Allen, executive secretary of the United Church of Canada’s Toronto Conference, said “Decisions about services that are held in United Churches are made locally by the congregation itself.
“Certainly, in this instance, we’re aware that the decision about where Dr. Slingerland’s funeral is being held is extremely painful for the victims of the abuse for which he was convicted. Nonetheless, as a church, our faith calls us to treat with compassion even those who stand convicted by the courts.”
A relative of Slingerland’s also declined to comment when reached at their home in Mount Albert.
Out on bail and appealing his twoyear prison sentence, Slingerland never served time behind bars.
The charges against Slingerland stemmed from incidents between 1959 and 1970. When his victims went public, much of the small town rallied around him. Faisal Joseph, Slingerland’s lawyer, read 70 letters of support for the disgraced doctor at his sentencing hearing in 2013.
Willitts, who now works as a journalist in Australia, was taken aback when he learned of the funeral arrangements.
“I gasped. I just gasped,” he said. “It’s just reopening old wounds.”