Meadow Lake pastor faces extradition for sex abuse against children in Northern Ireland

By Glynn Brothen

A retired Meadow Lake pastor who admitted to sexually abusing children overseas has surrendered himself for extradition to the United Kingdom, where he will face trial.

James Henry Clarke was taken into custody last Thursday. His arrest follows a denied application to Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal, where Clarke argued for a judicial review of his extradition order to consider his age, failing health and family obligations.

Clarke is now in his 80s. The offences against two children in his care occurred during the late 1960s and early 1970s when Clarke was 43 years old and working at a Northern Ireland institution.

In the late 1970s, Clarke relocated to Canada, where he worked as a pastor. He spent time in Ontario, B.C., and Meadow Lake, where he retired.

In 1980, one of Clarke’s alleged victims reported the sexual abuse, which launched an investigation into Clarke. A U.K. police officer travelled to Canada to interview Clarke, who denied the incident.

In 1985, during a subsequent interview with police, Clarke admitted to committing sexual abuse and provided a written statement detailing a third instance of abuse. Despite the admissions, U.K. police decided not to prosecute the case as the amount of time made proceedings “stale and inappropriate.”

The decision was later reversed after a public inquiry into historic institutional abuse in Northern Ireland was established. The inquiry’s report was published in 2017 and a BBC journalist located and interviewed Clarke, who again admitted to abusing teenaged boys in Northern Ireland care homes. The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland began a new investigation after the broadcast.

Earlier this year, Clarke submitted an affidavit to the court explaining he did his best to be transparent with authorities and demonstrated a willingness for incarceration to atone for his offences. However, he felt an extradition was unjust at his current age due to health issues and obligations to family members in need of assistance.

Clarke also alleged the order violated his Charter rights as the process was “extremely delayed.”

But in a submission to the court, Canada’s minister of justice noted the government received assurances from U.K. authorities that Clarke would receive treatment for his health issues if jailed.

“The courts have repeatedly held that the fact that a person sought for extradition has health problems, even serious ones, does not, in itself, render unconditional surrender unjust or oppressive,” the minister wrote.

In denying Clarke’s application, the judge said he could not accept Clarke’s argument that the federal minister failed to undertake a holistic analysis.

If you are a survivor of sexual violence and are seeking information, you can call the 24-hour Sexual Assault line, provided by the Regina Sexual Assault Centre. Call 1-844-952-0434 (toll-free) or 306-352-0434.

— With files from The Canadian Press