Police tell family to shut up

April 16, 2004 permalink

The following article is from the Toronto Star on the case of pedophile Douglas Donald Moore. The foster family that employed Moore has been advised not to speak. The article also questions the authenticity of the suicide claim.

There are many more questions to answer. The police turned a known monster loose on the community, resulting in the death of three men. The crown took children from their parents by force of arms and placed them at the mercy of the monster. Misfits like Mr Moore don't act responsibly, but what about the police and child protectors? They are busy shifting the blame to Mr Moore and the foster parents.

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Pedophile's past stuns family
'Polite' man had list of sex crimes
Woman denies he babysat kids

Apr. 16, 2004. 06:57 AM, GTA COLUMNISTS, MELISSA LEONG AND BOB MITCHELL, STAFF REPORTERS

A member of a Caledon family whose foster children are alleged to have been among those sexually assaulted by Douglas Donald Moore says they were "shocked" when they learned he was a convicted pedophile and suspected of being a serial killer.

Police have advised family members, who want to tell their side of the story, not to speak to the media. But in a brief interview, a woman who identified herself as the adult daughter of the foster parents said the Moore they knew was "polite and well mannered."

"He didn't appear to be a monster," she said, indicating that the photo of Moore released by Peel police doesn't look like the man they knew.

Moore, 36, who was found dead in his jail cell April 2 -- an apparent suicide -- is the prime suspect in the murders of Rene Charlebois, 15, of Mississauga; Robert Grewal, 22, of Mississauga; and Giuseppe (Joseph) Manchisi, 20, of Milton.

The woman, who didn't give her name, said her entire family was "in shock" after learning of Moore's past. He had a long history of sexually assaulting children. He had been arrested March 15 and charged with 11 sexual assaults against three young children, two of whom were allegedly violated while in the Caledon family's care.

At the time Moore died, the Ontario Provincial Police were set to lay more charges in connection with alleged sexual assaults on at least two other children, one of whom was also thought to have been victimized while in the same family's care.

All the children have been removed from the foster family by the Peel Children's Aid Society.

The March 15 arrest was Moore's first since he finished an eight-year prison sentence on Dec. 27, 1997, for several sexual assaults involving youths.

The woman who spoke with the Star said the family understands the public has many questions about its involvement with Moore. She said the family would tell its story when the time is right, but also insisted, contrary to media reports, that Moore was never allowed to babysit any of their children.

Despite rampant rumours that Moore might have been killed in his cell to prevent him revealing the reasons behind the killing of the three men, a police investigation yesterday concluded that Moore's death wasn't due to foul play.

But Halton investigators wouldn't confirm that Moore hanged himself in his cell at Maplehurst Detention Centre in Milton; they would say only that they have determined that "no criminality" was involved.

The ruling paves the way for a mandatory coroner's inquest, probably a year away.

The coroner won't officially reveal the cause of death until then, and Sergeant Jeff Corey said nothing would be released "that might jeopardize or prejudice a coroner's jury."

Even the relatives of some of Moore's victims have found it difficult to believe the sexual predator could have killed himself while under a suicide watch.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents the reporting of virtually everything known about the Orangeville 14-year-old who was charged earlier this week with two counts of accessory after the fact in the killings of Manchisi and Grewal.

Police won't reveal what they know about the connection between Moore and the accused teen or whether the teen knew any of Moore's victims.

All that can be said about the Grade 9 student is that police allege he helped Moore dispose of and take the bodies of Grewal and Manchisi to woods about 20 kilometres south of Montreal, sometime between Nov. 12, when the men went missing, and the Nov. 15 discovery of Grewal's mutilated remains.

A DNA match didn't identify Grewal until April 7, five days after Moore was found dead.

A search under way in the same area near Mercier has yet to find Manchisi's remains.

The accused teen wasn't charged with any crime connected to Charlebois' slaying. The remains of the Meadowvale Secondary School student, who disappeared Dec. 12, were found under mounds of garbage in a landfill site north of Orangeville on March 19.