A former junior hockey coach imprisoned for sexually abusing his players in a case that shocked the hockey world has been quietly pardoned by the National Parole Board, according to a report Sunday by The Canadian Press.
Graham James, sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in 1997, was pardoned three years ago by Pierre Dion, a clinical psychologist in Ottawa and full-time member of the Appeal Division of the National Parole Board, the wire service reported.
Dion, who was first appointed by the Liberals and re-appointed by the Conservatives, approved the pardon for James on Jan. 8, 2007. He could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the pardon "deeply troubling and gravely disturbing" and was shocked that the government learned of the pardon only Sunday, three years after the fact.
"The prime minister has asked for explanation on how the National Parole Board can pardon someone who committed such horrific crimes that remain shocking to all Canadians," said Dimitri Soudas.
"The actions of this convicted sex offender shocked the conscience of a nation -- one where the bond of trust between coaches and players in our national game is sacred."
Harper has asked Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to look into the issue and propose changes to ensure the parole board puts public safety first in issuing on pardons.
James, now 58, pleaded guilty to sexual assault after two of his former players, including ex-NHL player Sheldon Kennedy, went public with stories that he had molested them while he was coaching their Western Hockey League teams between 1984 and 1995.
James was charismatic and consistently successful as a coach. Even during his investigation, he was able to secure character references from respected hockey persons and former players.
To the end, he claimed that his relationship with Sheldon Kennedy was consensual and that he had done nothing illegal or immoral.
Former NHL star Theoren Fleury has lodged a formal complaint with police after publishing his autobiography last fall that included details of years of abuse by James.
Entitled "Playing With Fire," Fleury's book alleges that James began molesting him at age 14, describing one occasion when James drove both he and Kennedy to Disneyland for a vacation, assaulting them on alternate days.
Fleury reacted to news of James' pardon by issuing a statement on Sunday.
"I'm shocked and mystified," Fleury wrote. "Imagine somebody who commits that kind of crime being pardoned."
"Obviously nobody was proud of the decision or it wouldn't have been a secret. I thought we had an open justice system. It's just more proof our society has a lot to learn about protecting the victims."
The pardon will make it "even tougher" for victims of sexual abuse to talk about what happened to them, Fleury added.
James began his coaching career in 1984 as head coach of the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors and later the Swift Current Broncos, recruiting both Fleury and Kennedy.
It wasn't until more than a decade later, in 1996, when James was coach, general manager and part-owner of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, that he was charged with sexual assault.
The other victim besides Kennedy has never been publicly named and Fleury was not one of the complainants at the time.
James' current whereabouts are unknown.
The Canadian Hockey association has barred him from coaching for life. However, from 2001 to 2003, James coached hockey in Spain, including the national team -- with his Spanish employers fully aware of his Canadian police record.
The Canadian Press quoted an unnamed Winnipeg man who said he was also abused by James, saying the pardon was like a fresh wound.
"To say that the parole board process has been abused would be a grotesque understatement," the man said in an interview. "Here you have an incredibly high-profile pedophile -- and there's no other word to use to describe him -- who clearly has not been able to take responsibility or show any accountability for his actions."
"I can't explain in words the extent to which this just cuts right to the heart of the pain again, in terms of who he is and what he did."
The latest accuser, who says his encounter with James preceded Kennedy's by four years, is still deciding whether to lay a formal complaint against James.
Fleury said he submitted to the abuse because he didn't know who would believe him or whether hockey officials would circle the wagons to protect James.
Fleury said he struggled with the decision to lodge a criminal complaint against James, writing in his autobiography that the sexual abuse he suffered as a teenager transformed him from a confused young man into an angry, self-loathing alcoholic who blew millions of dollars on cards, drugs and lap dancers.
"I have been reflecting on this a long time," said Fleury. "I wanted to make the biggest impact on preventing this kind of thing from happening in the future."
A pardon can make it easier for a convict to get a job or travel abroad. Under Canadian human rights law, a person cannot be denied access to services or employment with a federal agency due to a pardoned conviction.
In addition to ensuring he had no further convictions, the parole board would have been obliged to investigate James's behaviour to ensure he was of "good conduct" during that time.
In 2006-07, the parole board issued 7,672 pardons to people convicted of lesser offences, 7,076 pardons to people with more serious convictions, and denied just 103 applications.
A pardon can be revoked if the person is later convicted of another crime, or the parole board finds the person is no longer of good conduct. Discovering the person lied or concealed relevant information at the time of the application can also result in a pardon being cancelled.
With files from The Canadian Press
