Gordon Stuckless apologizes in court for harm caused to his victims

TORONTO – The man at the heart of the Maple Leaf Gardens sex abuse scandal apologized in court Tuesday for the lifelong harm he has caused his young victims, saying he alone should feel shame and guilt over what they endured.

Gordon Stuckless was instructed to face away from the handful of victims present in a Toronto courtroom where he read his statement during a sentencing hearing.

At least one victim closed his eyes as Stuckless expressed remorse for betraying their trust and taking away their childhood.

“I’m sure some of you said to yourselves, ‘What did I do to deserve this abuse from someone I trusted and that my parents trusted?’” the former teacher and volunteer hockey coach said.

“I say to all of you I’m sorry. I had control. What did you do wrong? Nothing. It wasn’t your fault that I abused you. You did nothing wrong. Your parents did nothing wrong,” he said.

“I befriended you, rewarded you, manipulated you. I take full responsibility for my actions in the past. I know that I have caused a lot of harm, pain and shame to all of you. Again, I want to say I am ashamed and sorry for all that I have done in the past abusing you,” he said.

“I cannot change the past. I am working hard to ensure that nothing I did in the past ever happens again. I am truly sorry.”

Stuckless pleaded guilty in 2014 to 100 charges related to the sexual abuse of 18 boys decades ago. He was later found guilty of two additional charges of gross indecency linked to two of the 18 victims.

His lawyer, Ari Goldkind, said Stuckless has taken full responsibility for “the monstrous things that he did” and had not reoffended since his release 15 years ago.

That his client has voluntarily submitted to chemical castration for more than a decade and spared victims the trauma of a testifying at trial shows he is seeking to atone for his actions, Goldkind said.

“What more could Gordon Stuckless do, mindful of the monster that he was?” he said. “He’s done everything you could ask somebody to do to make sure they keep from reoffending.”

While many may call for him to be locked away for life, Stuckless should not be sentenced “simply on fear,” his lawyer said. Goldkind is expected to indicate later this week what sentence he is seeking.

He argued Stuckless cannot be considered a repeat offender, a legal designation that applies to those who commit a crime for which they have already been convicted in the past. The crimes he is being sentenced for now took place before his previous guilty plea.

Prosecutors decided earlier this year not to seek to have Stuckless designated a dangerous or long-term offender, based in part on a court-ordered psychiatric assessment that found he doesn’t meet the criteria.

But the Crown has argued his history of sexual abuse should be considered “extremely aggravating.”

Stuckless previously pleaded guilty in 1997 for sex assaults on 24 boys while he worked as an equipment manager at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens between 1969 and 1988.

He was sentenced to two years less a day in that case, but that was later increased to five years. He was paroled in 2001 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Court heard Monday that he was convicted on two other occasions of sex offences against underage boys.