Editor's note: This story contains information of a graphic sexual nature that some may find disturbing or offensive. However, Sudbury.com felt it was important to include these details so readers can understand the full magnitude of the crimes for which Paul McColeman has been found guilty.
Paul McColeman is going to prison for a long time, but the the 46-year-old Espanola man convicted June 28 of 34 sex-related crimes still maintains he did nothing wrong.
McColeman was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in a penitentiary for a luring and assaulting numerous young teen boys over seven or eight years. Labelled a long-term offender for the next 10 years, the former service station owner and search and rescue volunteer is banned for life from owning weapons, will have to give up a sample of his DNA and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his days.
What did he do?
The approach McColeman took in grooming his victims was consistent, Superior Court Justice Patricia Hennessey said when she sentenced him in June. He set up a fake Facebook account under different names, mainly using one called "Trebor Boucher." He would send friend requests to the victims, and then send them messages “daring” them to do something in exchange for pot, booze or money.
At first, the dares were to witness McColeman masturbating in the shower, and escalated from there to such things as masturbating into a bottle so McColeman could drink it and putting their penis in a “glory hole” to receive oral sex.
The encounters sometimes took place on a trail, where the victim would whistle upon their arrival, then would hear a clap in response. They would go toward the person clapping, who was dressed in dark clothing with a hood, and that person would perform fellatio on them.
In some cases, McColeman would have his victims solicit their friends to take part in the “pranks, dares and missions” as he referred to them. Some already were drinking, smoking pot and missing school when he met them.
He would also take them fishing and for quad rides.
“He became a father figure to at least two of the boys,” Hennessey said, and he embedded themselves in their lives. “But it was inevitable that word would get around in a small town.”
Denies guilt
Throughout the lengthy investigation and trial, McColeman maintained his innocence, a message his family helped spread through a Facebook page, Justice 4 Paul. Both McColeman and his family would share messages on the page in which they argued the 45-year-old was not only innocent, but being railroaded by a corrupt justice system that believed victims that McColeman and his supporters said were either unreliable or lying.
His refusal to admit guilt was an aggravating factor in his sentencing, the Crown argued back in June.
“He has shown no remorse, and is quick to blame others,” said Assistant Crown attorney Kara Vakiparta, who painted a picture of a “dark world,” where McColeman drew in vulnerable young boys, got them to trust in him, and then he preyed upon that trust.
Not only is he not accepting responsibility for his actions, he is blaming everyone else including victims, the police, the media and even his lawyer, she said. She said many of the victims were “easy prey,” coming from financially disadvantaged families or lacking a father figure in their life.
“These boys in Espanola were all vulnerable to this sexual predation, and the most vulnerable fell for it," Vakiparta said.
Still maintains his innocence
McColeman's refusal to admit guilt continues to this day. In a 90-second audio clip posted to the Justice 4 Paul page on July 17, he denies everything.
"I want to make it perfectly clear to everyone that I'm not responsible for any of the accounts created or any of the messaging that allegedly took place," McColeman says in the video. "And I definitely was not the one sneaking around in the bushes at all hours of the night."
Calling his life an "open book with each page laid out for everyone to see," McColeman said those who know him knew where he was everyday and knew he couldn't have been doing the crimes for which he was convicted.
Describing the situation as a "mess," he said he will continue to fight and called on his supporters to fight with him.
"I will continue to fight not only for myself, my rights and my freedom, but for everyone who's had their lives turned upside down as a result of this mess," he said. McColeman encouraged everyone "to talk, ask questions, seek answers and to please come forward with any information you may have, no matter how small, insignificant, how meaningless it may seem.
"I thank you, I miss you and I love you all. God bless."
McColeman does plan to appeal his conviction.
