chapter thirteen

OCTOBER 19, 2000

Peter Whitmore had been given an ultimatum. He had a 24-hour head start to flee the neighbourhood and find somewhere else to live before he would face the wrath of an angry public.

The message had been delivered loud and clear – by an angry mother of three who had stumbled across his new home. The woman had been reading about the Whitmore case and was stunned to learn the notorious pedophile was living in the upscale house next door.

Even more surprising was who had taken him in. Timo Martin, the Seventh Day Adventist pastor with a soft spot for criminals, had gone out on a limb once again in an attempt to help Whitmore.

Martin had laid out some strict rules; telling Whitmore he had to find a more permanent residence within a week and making him promise not to leave his Woodvalley Drive home.

He also got Whitmore to agree to some intensive one-on-one counselling sessions in which they would discuss his past, present and future. Whitmore was the first sex offender he’d ever counselled, but Martin saw some potential and refused to give up hope.

Whitmore admitted he was on borrowed time, that any future offending could land him behind bars for the rest of his life. He also claimed to be “scared” of children because of the risk they represent to his freedom.

And he promised to “never, never” commit another crime again. Martin wanted to believe him. But just like the last time, when he rented a car for Whitmore, his good intentions had backfired.

His neighbour clearly meant business, telling Martin to get rid of his houseguest immediately. Others on the street quickly followed suit, joining the chorus of concerns.

Although he hated to turn his back on Whitmore in his time of need, Martin saw the writing on the wall and agreed to the distraught woman’s request. Whitmore said he knew it was the right thing to do, even telling Martin he wanted to go.

Martin contacted Dan Brodsky, Whitmore’s lawyer, to tell him of the latest developments. Brodsky was saddened, but not surprised. He believed the community had given up on Whitmore before he even had a chance to prove himself. He saw that first-hand the previous night when he appeared before a gathering of concerned community residents at a “town hall” type meeting.

Brodsky had tried to explain that Whitmore had paid his debt to society and was truly trying to change his ways – but his pleas for calm were met with cries of “shame” and “what about our kids.”

Residents had made it clear they would do everything possible to make Whitmore’s life miserable. Some eventually did go to the media, blasting Martin for opening his door to Whitmore.

“It could be that he was trying to be a Good Samaritan but I don’t think he was very wise,” next-door neighbour Bill Graham told reporters.

“Our rights were betrayed,” a female resident on the street said.

“He should have thought about his neighbours,” said another woman.

Some even suggested Martin should be banned from working in the future with other ex-cons and even struggling immigrants. They didn’t want him bringing those types of people into their community.

With residents now rolling out the unwelcome mat, Brodsky was forced to find another temporary home for his client. He settled on a downtown Toronto hotel. Police were notified of the move, as required by the court order. Two plainclothes officers came to Martin’s home to escort Whitmore to his new locale, fearing there could be an uprising if he was spotted in the streets.

But Brodsky wasn’t finished. His next move was to call some contacts he had in the Toronto media with an interesting offer.

How would they like to meet the monster?

•••••

“This is just a temporary place until we can come up with a long-term solution,” Brodsky told a gathering of reporters who had responded to his interview request.

“The hunt is on again; nothing has been accomplished. We’re expecting the downtown community to be searching for him soon.”

Toronto police weren’t very impressed by Whitmore’s sudden change-of-address, believing the instability was a sign of bad things to come.

“I thought we had reached a workable balance, but now we have taken steps backwards. The problem is now being passed on to another community,” Staff Inspector Roy Pilkington, of the Toronto police Sexual Assault Squad, told the National Post.

“There are no easy answers here. It’s a real conundrum what to do with these people who are still considered high-risk. The law says he has paid his debt, but I don’t know any community that would want a pedophile.”

Brodsky said his client was considering moving back to British Columbia with his aunt, Lynn Hopkins.

Whitmore was in the room with Brodsky, surrounded by several reporters and photographers who had many questions for arguably the country’s most controversial pedophile at that moment. Whitmore did and said all the right things, speaking in quiet, polite tones and showing glimpses of genuine charm. Christie Blatchford of the National Post later described Whitmore as follows:

“Of average height and weight, Whitmore is quite handsome, with a high clear brow and really warm eyes of a genuinely pretty blue and soft light brown hair that curls delicately here and there. His gaze is direct, and it says exactly what he says – Look at me. I am an open book. There is nothing to fear here.”

Whitmore repeated the promise he’d made to Timo Martin, vowing not to re-offend. He went a step further, suggesting he might remain celibate the rest of his life.

“Certainly celibate from any children,” he said.

Whitmore claimed he hadn’t had any sexual thoughts about children for several years and that he planned to keep his distance.

“There will never be children in any house where I live,” said Whitmore, adding the police are welcome to search his residence whenever they want.

Whitmore said he wanted to speak with the media to “to calm public fears and let people know what I’m doing.” He vowed to seek treatment while in the community – the very kind he’d snubbed his nose at while behind bars.

“I know I’m not [going to reoffend] because if I do, I’m going to prison for the rest of my life. I don’t want to harm anyone else. I’ve made that promise to myself,” said Whitmore.

Although he said he wouldn’t have any contact with children, Whitmore claimed he wouldn’t have any sexual urges even if he did.

“I’ve walked the public street and I’ve seen ‘em [children] and I feel nothing in regards to a sexual nature,” he said.

Whitmore promised to call upon members of a local Mennonite support group that Brodsky had put him in touch with. The organization had previously offered to help Whitmore following his last release from jail, but he chose instead to run to Mexico.

Whitmore ended the interview by saying he didn’t expect to even have the opportunity to re-offend, thanks to the vigilant Toronto Police Service.

“I have my surveillance. I’m not going to be able to gain access to any children,” he said.

Whitmore said he’d like to eventually be able to walk down the street without being noticed and hoped to one day apply for a disability pension, claiming he’s been suffering a form of leukemia for more than 20 years.

Reporters were sceptical, recalling Whitmore had previously told officials in Texas he had cancer and even going so far as to shave off clumps of his hair as part of his elaborate cover story. Whitmore had made similar comments to Canadian justice officials around the time of his last release from jail, implying that a section 810 peace bond wouldn’t be needed since he’d probably die soon regardless.

Whitmore also tried to explain away some of his offences but quickly found himself eating his words. After claiming he would never abduct a child off the street, he said that his victims were children he had some kind of “relationship” with.

Heather Bird, a reporter with the Toronto Sun, reminded Whitmore that he’d only known the little girl he abducted in 1994 for a few hours.

“So four hours is a relationship, then?” Bird asked.

Whitmore tried to minimize his crime, claiming he “only” asked the girl for oral sex and went on the run with her because he believed her family members would come after him with a gun.

“Either way the child went home the next day in a cab,” said Whitmore in a truly feeble attempt to cast himself in a positive light.

Whitmore also deflected blame for not getting treatment behind bars, claiming a variety of factors beyond his control made it difficult. Hostile inmates, staff members who refused him entry and cancelled programs were all cited as factors.

Whitmore raised some eyebrows when he suggested so-called “chemical castration” would be an option. The procedure involves taking powerful drugs which reduce an offender’s sex drive. The treatment can’t be ordered by the courts in Canada and is strictly voluntary.

Whitmore said he’d even be willing to “consider” wearing an electronic ankle bracelet if that’s what justice officials felt was necessary to monitor his movement.

Unfortunately for the public, no such device was being utilized in Canada.

Blatchford wrapped up her story in the Post with the following:

“All of us there were adults. We never would have been in danger from him. We all knew going in precisely what he is, a thrice-convicted sex offender, a diagnosed homosexual pedophile, and a slick operator who often set up respectable fronts – usually companies that purported to track missing children – for his activities, once, remarkably, doing so from his jail cell.

“For myself, I remain repelled by the notion that a man in his position, who has served every last day of his time and has not re-offended, should be subjected to constant police surveillance and have his liberty so restricted and should be in hiding.

“The difference is that before I met him, I was furious about all this. And now that I have, I can barely rouse myself to care.

“I expected I might feel the need of a shower afterward. What is so frightening is that I didn’t.”

•••••

OCTOBER 25, 2000

With money quickly running out and the public still out for blood, Whitmore’s chances of success remained slim. However, the Mennonite Central Committee, a religious group which helps sex offenders upon their release from prison, had come forward after reading about Whitmore’s plight in the media.

Assistant director Rick Bauman spoke out on Whitmore’s behalf, saying the public is actually doing more harm than good by reacting so strongly to his release.

He said “isolating and harassing” Whitmore will only increase his risk of re-offending. As a result, the Kitchener-based organization had agreed to accept Whitmore in their “Circles of Support” program after consultation with Toronto police.

Dr. Robin Wilson, the program’s chief psychologist, was tasked with doing a risk assessment. The result was one of the most comprehensive looks at Whitmore to date.

“File materials are universal in their assessment of Mr. Whitmore as being a high risk for future criminal involvement, particularly in regard to sexual offending,” Wilson’s report began.

“During our 90-minute interview, he was relatively candid about his history of interactions with minors, particularly (but not restricted to) boys aged 8 to 13. He denied any sexual indiscretions aside from those for which he was charged and convicted.”

He said forensic testing on several levels showed Whitmore’s degree of danger hadn’t been reduced since similar testing was done behind bars.

“Perhaps the most compelling risk factor at hand is Mr. Whitmore’s admitted sexual interest in young boys. While demonstrative of a good deal of self-awareness, it is important to recognize that this is a strong diagnostic indicator for pedophilia, which is a condition for which there is currently no available cure,” said Wilson.

“Mr. Whitmore’s present circumstances are particularly tense and stressful, which he readily admits. He has been rendered a pariah by the media and much of the community, to the extent that his whereabouts must be protected in order to prevent potential vigilantism. His situation is clearly unstable.”

He said there were few options for dealing with Whitmore.

“Essentially, Mr. Whitmore is an untreated sexual offender. There are conflicting accounts as to reasons why he was unable to complete treatment during both his provincial and federal periods of incarceration. Mr Whitmore contends that he was willing to enter treatment, but that security concerns and resourcing difficulties prevented him from doing so. Regarding the former, it would appear that there were numerous incompatible relationships with other inmates which caused Mr. Whitmore some concern for his safety. In our present interview, he expressed considerable disdain for many of the CSC personnel who assessed and attempted to treat him while he was incarcerated. In particular, he expressed discomfort with being either assessed or offered treatment by persons who did not possess doctoral level training,” Wilson wrote.

He said Whitmore was clearly “an engaging, intelligent and talkative man who seemed genuinely concerned about his present circumstances.”

“However, his discussions were marked by a glibness and superficial charm. He also demonstrated a tendency to be self-serving in his assertions regarding his prior involvement with the system and his current circumstances. While the veracity of some of his statements would be difficult to ascertain, I was left with the general feeling that Mr. Whitmore tends to skirt or mold the truth to fit his needs. These features are consistent with previous diagnoses of anti-social personality disorder, and are also consistent with his admitted history of fraudulent and otherwise parasitic activities,” said Wilson.

“There are many good reasons, clinical and actuarial, to consider Mr. Whitmore to be at considerable risk for future sexual offending. He has an anti-social and narcissistic personality structure, which tends to manifest itself in self-serving and manipulative use of others for his own personal gain. Further, he has a self-professed interest in young boys, which is likely the strongest available diagnostic indicator of homosexual pedophilia,” wrote Wilson.

“Additionally, he has a relatively recent history of fleeing when faced with difficult circumstances. In closing, Mr. Whitmore is faced with many difficult circumstances in the community. He is clearly in need of compassionate community support, as might be afforded by the Mennonite Central Committee Circles of Support. However, it is likely that involvement in supportive and treatment services will prevent additional difficulties for Mr. Whitmore. Nonetheless, as it stands now, it would appear that he has few options other than to engage the process presented to him.”

Whitmore agreed to attend some group meetings, which focus on establishing a strong support network for sex offenders who have recently been released from jail. But there was certainly some lingering doubt about how committed he truly would be.

“We believe it is better to be engaged and proactive, instead of disengaged and not acting at all,” Bauman told reporters who questioned his group’s involvement.

Dan Brodsky was continuing to speak out, saying Whitmore had reached a crisis stage. Although the healing circle was a good step, Whitmore was quickly running out of cash and would soon be forced to go on the move again. His next stop was the streets. And Brodsky warned that such a move would be bad news for everyone.

The MCC hoped they could somehow find Whitmore a job that would allow him to make some money and pay for a more stable place to sleep. But they knew their newest resident’s resume would likely scare off most suitors.

Brodsky said a men’s hostel was not a good option because Whitmore was wearing a proverbial “target” on his back based on his criminal history. Pedophiles were at the bottom of the criminal food chain, and other ex-cons would love nothing more than to feast on him.

“He’s scared of any group situation. When he closes his eyes he has to worry about what might happen in his sleep,” Brodsky told the National Post.

No doubt many of Whitmore’s past victims could relate to sleepless nights and living in constant fear.