Winnipeg pediatrician accused of sexually abusing son split family into factions, prosecutor says

A Crown prosecutor told court Wednesday the Winnipeg pediatrician accused of frequently molesting his son decades ago was a powerful man who divided his children into two factions: those who supported him against the abuse allegations, and those who didn't.

Victor Chernick's son, Richard Chernick​, testified that he was sexually assaulted by his father about 100 times between 1975-1979.

"You're in with Victor and you get all the benefits of being with Victor," Crown attorney Debbie Buors said in her closing arguments Wednesday.

"The moment you step out of line, you're no longer in with Victor."

Buors said Victor's influence goaded his brother to testify in his support.

Other child alleged abuse

She suggested a rift between Victor and Richard formed in the early 1990s, when Richard's sister Sharon made sexual abuse allegations against Victor.

Richard refused to sign his father's document stating he believed the sexual abuse allegations were false, Buors said.

Victor denied the existence of any such document. Criminal charges related to Sharon's allegations were stayed. 

Victor is now on trial in connection with Richard's allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by his father, which Richard said happened during his mid- to late-teens.

He recounted at least four instances of sexual abuse in graphic detail, including one case where he says his mother walked in on them. 

Identities in the court case can be made publicly because the complainant made the rare decision to waive his right to a publication ban. 

Victor was arrested in 2013 on charges of incest, indecent assault, buggery and two counts of gross indecency after his son came forward with the accusations.

He has pleaded not guilty and has categorically denied committing any sexual acts against his son.

He also refutes the allegation he admitted to the abuse years later — in therapy, and also at the family's cabin — and apologized to his son for it. 

At the time of the alleged abuse, Victor was the chief pediatrician at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital and head of the University of Manitoba's department of pediatrics.

The Crown rejected the defence's claim that Richard is simply after his father's money. 

Sacrificed to testify

Richard has already lost relationships with his mother, two sisters and an aunt who took his father's side, and has likely squandered any opportunity to reconcile with his parents, Buors said.

"Richard's lost much more than he's gained," she told Justice Joan McKelvey, who is hearing the judge-only trial.

Richard and his sister Sharon also filed a civil lawsuit in 2014 accusing their father of incest, gross indecency and years where he allegedly "sexually, physically, emotionally and mentally abused, assaulted and traumatized" them.

The first $200,000 that may be awarded in the ongoing civil suit would be funnelled to the government to pay down Richard's bankruptcy debt — further evidence Richard isn't motivated by money, Buors argued.

The defence argued Richard struggles financially and money is clearly a motive. He decided to pursue the civil lawsuit before launching criminal proceedings, and he initially told police in 2013 he wanted to take away everything Victor owned once he was in jail, lawyer Sarah Inness said.

"This is about securing a conviction to ensure that the lawsuit is successful and money flows."

The defence questioned why, if Richard's motive is holding his father to account for the alleged abuse, and his mother to account for complicity, he wasn't satisfied by his father's alleged confession.

Inness added it was worrisome that witness Robin Tyler's recollection of certain events was clearer in recent years than when she was questioned on Sharon's allegations in the early 1990s.

Tyler, who is Victor Chernick's sister, testified that in the early 1980s, Sharon and another family member came to visit her in San Francisco and told her about the allegations of molestation. 

She testified that she later travelled to Winnipeg for a meeting with the accused and some other family members to discuss the allegations.

Victor argues that meeting never happened. 

Long-lasting effects

Richard told court last week he has been tormented by the alleged abuse for decades, twice being hospitalized for two months at a time due to depression.

He spoke to psychologists about the abuse allegations, but did not do so when he was called into a meeting with Child and Family Services because he wasn't comfortable with "coming forward with saying my father was a child molester."

McKelvey will deliver her decision later this year. 

With files from Bryce Hoye.