Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 12, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba saturday special a13 Winnipeg free press saturday August 12, 2006 Winnipeg free press Justice reporter Mike Mcintyre was invited to Southeastern Saskatchewan this week to meet with the family of a 10-year-old boy allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by convicted paedophile Peter Whitmore. It is the family a first ? and Only ? interview and came during an emotional afternoon and evening filled with laughs and tears around a campfire. Until last week the Only invaders these self described simple farm folks had to worry about were the coyotes and foxes trying to get at their barnyard animals. But then along came Whitmore with a 14-year-old Winnipeg teen in Tow and a Story that preyed on their Trust and Cost them their sons innocence. Here is Mcintyre a exclusive report. anguish and anger abducted boy survives 48-hour ordeal with convicted paedophile w hit Wood sask. ? the adorable freckle faced boy takes me by the hand to proudly show me the greeting card he personally picked out for the Regina ramp officer who whisked him away from a convicted paedophile. I made a wish. And you came True the 10-year-old recites with a Sweet smile. His mom a Strong and deeply protective woman is once again near tears As he reads it aloud. Its the card that makes Mommy cry she tells her son. Dad ? a gentle kind hearted soul ? also admits to getting a Lump in his Throat. The boy plans to Send the simple but very powerful Mes Sage to const. Tim Schwartz whose open arms were there to meet him in a dramatic escape last week from an abandoned farmhouse near Kipling. After Reading the card the boy quickly returns to acting his age ? playing with his toy robot and teasing his two Sis ters aged nine and 12, How his invention ? a Coffee machine made out of a card Board Box tape foil and Styro foam cups ? is better than theirs. They share a Good natured laugh and life it would appear is Back to Normal. But it is difficult to escape the reality of the family a current situation for too Long. Peter Whitmore 35, is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two boys. Peter Whitmore a 35-year-old Long time sex offender is accused of kid napping and repeatedly sexually assaulting the boy in what the family describes As a pre meditated attack. Whitmore is also accused of Kidnap Ping and sexually assaulting a 14-year?old Winnipeg teen. A court ordered ban prevents the victims names from being published. The family is reluctant to discuss specific details of the allegations against Whitmore but offer a few disturbing revelations. The boy says he was Given dog food water and crackers to eat during the 48 hours he was held captive. He also says they were holed up inside the abandoned farmhouse the entire time and he always believed he would escape. I told police that very first night he would try to run that he would to fall prey to that scum his father says. Fortunately an Alert local resident who was aware of the ongoing Man Hunt for Whitmore took a look around the property and stumbled across his Van. Pat Beaudot immediately called police who rushed to the scene. When the boy saw police pull onto the prop erty he made a joyous dash for free Dom. He a a hero and we Are very very grateful for or. Beaudot the father says. The family has spoken with Beaudot by Telephone and plan to have dinner with him soon to offer personal thanks. Now we have him the father says hugging his boy tightly. You re the Centre of attention ? but you re our Little try As they might there Are daily disturbing reminders of what has Hap Interior shots of the abandoned farmhouse where convicted paedophile Peter Whitmore allegedly held two boys captive near Kipling sask. For two Days. Upper left the bathroom and upper right the Kitchen. Above a bed room with Walls bearing Marker scribbles and numbers. Opened. The boy begins to protest when his Mother reminds him he has to take his Medicine which a doctor has pre scribed As a precaution. I Don to want to take my Medicine he says softly. How much longer Well you have to take it 28 Days. And this is nine. So How Many More is that she asks. Us 19,? he replies briefly putting his concerns aside to take Praise for his Quick math skills. I was top three in my class last year he tells me adding he a looking Forward to starting Grade 5 in a couple weeks. I want to be a scientist he says. Devastating is How the boy later sums up his ordeal which made inter National headlines and has led to a renewed debate about How Canada deals with paedophiles. It is a political fight the boys family is eager to join. And they want other outraged canadians to join them. My god i Don to want anyone else to have to go through what we re going through the father says. He had just wrapped up a face to face meeting with his local my earlier that Day and has plans to meet with Federal Justice minister Vic Toews in the coming weeks. He says the family will eventually give up their right to anonymity and fight for better Moni Toring and stiffer punishment of sex offenders in full Public View. We want Justice. Not just for us but for everyone out there. Our emotional issues with his son Are our number 1 Issue right now. But we plan on getting a grassroots movement going. Well take this anywhere we have to go he says. The family is relieved the Crown prosecutor assigned to Whitmore Scase phoned them earlier this week and asked for their input before announcing the Crown will not Cut a Deal with Whitmore and will seek to have him jailed for the rest of his life. During negotiations with police last week Whitmore got the ramp to agree in writing to make a recommendation to Saskatchewan Justice officials that he be spared a life sentence and dangerous offender designation. He promised to immediately plead guilty to his alleged crimes and spare the victims from testifying. The family urged the Crown prosecutor to go to trial and seek the maximum penalty even if it Means a Long drawn out Legal Battle. And they simply scoff at defence lawyer Dan Brodsky a Sugges Tion Whitmore May try to be sent to a Hospital instead of prison on the grounds he is mentally ill. We want to fight this. It does to mat Ter if their son has to testify. He a already faced the worse he a going to. He has to live this every Day of his life the father says. We re not scared of or. Whitmore. If he thinks we re going to Back Down he a wrong. Well meet him in the courtroom. My boy is very Strong. Much stronger than we Are. Whit More has no idea who he a dealing the self described simple farm folks realize they Are dealing with a very Complex Issue that has rocked their world. Its peaceful out Here the father says while serving up hotdogs to his family and guest. We live a quiet we used to his wife says immediately. Whitmore showed up on their sprawling 320-acre property on the evening of saturday july 29, with a blown tire on his Van. He claimed the Winnipeg teen was his Nephew and told the family his wife had recently died and he was looking for work and prop erty in the area. We think now he deliberately dam aged that tire. It was a setup says the father. He took Whitmore to a local repair shop that evening while the Winnipeg teen stayed behind at the farm to play with his son. The teen had been with Whitmore since july 22 following a similar incident of alleged deception. Whitmore and the teen returned the following morning for another visit on the Guise of buying eggs and looking at some of the animals. Whitmore then left the teen again to go on a tour of the area. The teen took the younger boy out for a noon hour Bike ride which the family believes was yet another setup. Whitmore was apparently waiting to grab them both. The boys Mother and several other family members went looking for him when he did to return a Short time later. Their initial thought was that the boy had lost track of time. The situation became far More grim when she found two bikes a Short Dis Tance from their farm. Both boys were gone. The family provided a description of Whitmore to the police along with the strange circumstances of his visit. Police were Able to quickly identify Whitmore As a suspect after tracing the serial number on the vehicle he a had repaired and showed the family a picture of him to confirm his identity. I asked the police what he had done because i knew it was a Mug shot. But she would to Tell me the Mother says. We stayed up All night crying and praying and wondering who this Guy was that had our son. And then we turned on the television in the morning to see on Canada am that Whitmore is a convicted paedophile. That show we found the entire family is undergoing counselling and have been working closely with victims services person Nel in Yorkton whom they describe As they also Praise the police for All their work and thank local residents ? and the entire coun try ? for the outpouring of support. Cards and letters have been coming in from strangers across Canada while others have chipped in with financial donations at the local Bank ? some thing the family want even aware was being done. You be got a lot of people who Are thankful you re Home the father tells his son who looks up from playing with his two pet rats to give a Friendly smile. No rats at the dinner table his Mother says firmly before everyone Breaks into a laugh. She admits to being a Little More on Edge since her son returned Home safely. I a like a Mother Bear now she says. I Don to want this to change the Way we Are. But we Haven to been sleeping Well. If i get my chores done its a Good for now the focus is on feeling bet Ter. And fireworks. A relative brought Over More than $300 Worth of fireworks which the family set off in a spectacular Celebration in honour of their sons first night Home last week. It sounded like a Shotgun going off the boy says with wide eyed glee. The family has saved one last item a $40 sky dancer the Young boy says he May set off on his 11th birthday next month. We re saving it for a special Day. I think i have a Day in mind the father says with a sheepish Grin and acknowledgement of the Long Road still ahead. But i Don to know if we want to wait that Long.?. visit Mike Mcintyre a personal blog at for More on this Story. my god i Don to want anyone else to have to go through what we re going through ;