Fort Collins Coloradoan from Fort Collins, Colorado • Page 2

A2, WORLD, The Coloradoan, Saturday, March 24, 2007, www.coloradoan.com Priest Canadian judge requires women to get rid of face coverings to vote Ruling is a reversal from earlier judgement and mirrors similar laws in other nations Francois MoriThe Associated Press Alma Levy, 16, and her 18-year-old sister, Lila, were expelled in 2003 from their high school in Aubervilles, France, near Paris, for wearing their head scarves. Now a Canadian judge is requiring women to remove their face-covering veils, or niqabs, in order to vote in elections on Monday. elections office received threatening phone calls and e-mails following his initial decision to allow niqabs. He said some residents had threatened to protest Monday's vote by showing up at polling stations wearing masks. The reversal was condemned by Muslim groups who said it could turn their members away from the polls.

"I am so saddened, I doubt many of these women will show up at the polls on Monday after all this mockery," said Sarah Elgazzar of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations. Many European countries are also grappling with the issue of Muslim veils. In Britain, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw caused a stir last year when he said he wanted Muslim women to abandon the full-face veil, while a Muslim teaching assistant in northern England was suspended from her job for refusing to remove one. France passed a law in 2004 banning Islamic head scarves in schools, and the Netherlands priest who have questioned the character and honesty of two witnesses against Evans, including the alleged victim from which the charges stem. A combative and often argumentative Father Lawrence Christiansen, the current administrator at St Elizabeth Ann Seton and self-described "best friend" of Evans, appeared Friday morning on behalf of the defense.

Upon cross-examination by Bishop, Christiansen admitted spending every off day with Evans. The witness also testified that he and Evans cook and shop for each other as well as take frequent vacations together. When asked by Bishop about one of Evans' alleged victims, a former youth minister at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton whose oldest child is Evans' godchild, Christiansen said the accuser annoyed, bothered and upset him because he was spending so much time with Evans. Two male witnesses testified during the trial that Evans touched their genitals and two others testified of being caressed inappropriately by the former priest while minors.

Evans, who worked as head priest at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton between 1998 and 2002, is scheduled to face similar sexual misconduct charges April 2 in Jefferson County. Following the conclusion of witness testimonies, Evans' defense team requested from Blair a motion of acquittal on the two charges of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. The defense argued that while Evans and the alleged victim, who was a minor at the time, were drinking beer and smoking cigarettes together at the church rectory, Evans was acting as a friend and not a person in a position of trust. Blair denied the request and will allow the charges to be considered by the jury.

Jury deliberation will resume Continued from Page Al take the witness stand in his defense. Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon asked the jury members to consider the age and emotional state of the alleged victim when considering the charges. During his final statements to the jury, Gavaldon described the government's overwhelming power to search, question and record phone calls in its attempt to gain evidence against Evans. "This is the first time I have ever had the privilege to represent a priest," Gavaldon said. "But you are not judging him as a priest but as a human being." Gavaldon criticized the prosecution's use of a "pretext phone call" a key piece of evidence that had been set up by a Fort Collins police detective in which the alleged victim recorded a 2004 phone conversation with Evans.

During the phone call, Evans was recorded telling the alleged victim, "I loved you "if you felt pressure to have sex by me, I blame myself'; and "I wanted you to feel loved, and I didn't know how else to do it" Gavaldon said the phone conversation needed to be looked at holistically and not broken into individual statements. "Alone, the statements in the phone call make (Evans) look guilty," Gavaldon said. "The purpose (of the pretext phone call) was not to get at the truth; it was an investigative technique. The intent was to catch (Evans) at the most vulnerable time." Before resting the case, Gavaldon continued to try to discredit the alleged victims who claimed Evans improperly touched them. Gavaldon called as witnesses a series of current and former employees of St.

Elizabeth Ann Seton the local Catholic church where Evans worked as head sion, citing security concerns, but Muslim groups pointed out that the Canadian Armed Forces allow women to wear head scarves on active duty. Last month, an 11-year-old Muslim girl from Ontario participating in a soccer tournament in Quebec was pulled from the field after she refused the referee's request to remove her head scarf. has announced plans for one banning full-length veils in public places. Germany also has a law banning teachers in public schools from wearing head scarves. Last week in Quebec, a young Muslim woman was forced to quit her job at a prison after she refused to remove her head scarf.

The public security department supported the deci count) Troy Elwood Fanning, 29, Loveland Internet sexual exploitation of a child Stacy Kroner, 18, Centennial Internet sexual exploitation of a child (two counts) Internet luring of a child (two counts) Scott Cortelyou, 53, Conifer Internet sexual exploitation of a child Internet luring of a child Richard Harl, 38, Aurora, a registered sex offender Internet sexual exploitation of a child (three counts) Internet luring of a child tention." Davis encourages parents to spend time on the Internet with their children and to take advantage of blocking and Web monitoring programs. She also rec- By PHIL COUVRETTE The Associated Press MONTREAL Muslim women will have to remove their face coverings if they want to vote in upcoming elections in Quebec, a government official said Friday, reversing his earlier decision to allow the veils. Marcel Blanchet, the French-speaking province's election chief, had been criticized by Quebec's three main political leaders for allowing voters to wear the niqab, which covers the entire face except for the eyes, if they signed a sworn statement and showed identification when they vote. But Blanchet reversed his earlier decision Friday, saying it was necessary to avoid disruptions when residents go to the polls. "Relevant articles to electoral laws were modified to add the following: Any person showing up at a polling station must be uncovered to exercise the right to vote," he said.

Blanchet had to get two bodyguards after the Quebec Luring Continued from Page Al solicitation, said Laura Hunt, executive director of The Larimer County Child Advocacy Center. And while children are keen on "stranger dangers," there hasn't been enough discussion about how to keep them safe online. "The Internet is a fantastic tool and it opens all sorts of doors for everyone, but at the same time, it can leave us vulnerable," Davis said. Hunt said the Internet gives many children a false sense of security, leaving them susceptible to crime. "They are the ideal victim because the child feels safe," she said.

The Internet also provides a criminal easy access to victims, given the frequency with which children use computers. Hunt said 87 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 17 have online access. She said SUBARU. Stock 7831 "Jai 2007 Subaru SALES Who was arrested Here are the people arrested in the investigation and the charges against them: Jeffery Fort Collins Internet sexual exploitation of a child Child abuse waiYipNgai, BANDACH 28, Fort Collins Internet luring of a child Attempted sexual assault of a child Michael Luckey, 25, Fort Carson Internet sexual exploitation of a child (two counts) Internet luring of a child (one the average child spends 5V4 hours online each day. "Children are on computers, and a lot of families have computers in the home," she said.

"Even if a computer is in a local place, (parents) aren't paying at (three counts) James Leroy Hatton, 46, Greeley Internet sexual exploitation of a child (two counts) Billy Gilmore, 46, Thornton Internet sexual exploitation of a child (two counts) Internet luring of a child (two counts) Travis Mese, 26, Fort Morgan Internet sexual exploitation of a child Internet luring of a child John Walter Meyer, 36, Thornton Internet sexual exploitation of a child (two counts) Internet luring of a child (two counts) ommends that computers be placed in common areas in the home. In addition, Hunt suggests monitoring a child's phone calls. and all Ml 970.282.2400 1 HAVE YOU HAD Organic lii Natural Beef No Hormones No Steroids No Antibiotics For Your (307) 788-8036 HOME ON THE RANGE MEAT PROCESSING Alt-Wheel Peal EVENT HNilN.ri.li.iHMIllliilIH'"Hillt GRAND STATION AT CENTERRA i.TriSfrMMrV- fat soiMzhAhsYi CapitalWest National Bank. wwwCWNBANK.COM A RDDFlEASv 344 E. Foothills Pkwy.

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