Bill
Surkis, 70, who is a prominent member of Montreal's Jewish community
was arrested today. He is the Quebec Regional Director of the B'nai
Brith Canada, a director of Montréal's Holocaust Museum, and dean at
John Abbott College.He was led to court in handcuffs Friday to face charges related to accessing and possessing child pornography. Surkis spent the night in jail, and was released on bail, on a number of conditions that restrict his access to children and the Internet. "They know me as a staunch individual, they know that I've stood for what is right. I continue to stand for what is right. That's why we're doing the things that we're doing so that we can clear my name." When Surkis was asked how the pornographic material ended up on his hard drive, his lawyer, Steven Slimovitch, intervened.
Virus check on computer revealed illegal material
The child pornography was allegedly discovered after Surkis took his computer to a store to be checked out for viruses. "It was the people at the computer store who noticed these images on his computer," said CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie, reporting live from the Montreal courthouse. "We're talking about 23 videos, allegedly of child pornography, found on the hard drive of his computer," Lurie added. [7]
Jewish Community stands with accused, asks Canada's Prime Minister to InterveneSurkis said members of the Jewish community will be disappointed by the news of the charges against him, but said he remains hopeful that he will maintain his reputation. Canada's Jews have put out an urgent cry to PM Harper to get charges dropped against Bill Surkis.
Judge Orders Defendant To Stay Away From ChildrenHe is forbidden from being in the presence of minors or in any park or playground where minors congregate, this condition also applies to his own grandchildren. He is forbidden from using his computer or any other equipment to access the Internet except for work purposes, and he is barred from going to Internet cafés.
source: CBC NEWS, Canada (link)
