David William Ramsay
{{infobox criminal
|name=David William Ramsay
|birth_date={{birth year|1943}}
|birth_place=Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
|death_date={{death date and age|2008|1|19|1943}}
|death_place=Dorchester, New Brunswick, Canada
|alma_mater=University of Victoria
|occupation={{flatlist|
- Lawyer
- judge
}}
|children=4
|convictions=
- Breach of trust
- Sexual assault causing bodily harm
- Sexual exploitation of a child (×3)
|conviction_penalty=Seven years imprisonment
}}
David William Ramsay (1943–2008) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who was imprisoned for sexual assault on minors, some of whom appeared before him in court. Ramsay targeted indigenous girls as young as twelve.
Ramsey was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1943 and moved to Port Alberni, British Columbia, with his family after World War II. He received a degree in Education from the University of Victoria in 1964 and taught elementary school for two years. He then returned to the University of Victoria from which he received a law degree in 1971. He articled under the late Harold Bogle, QC, in Prince George, British Columbia, following which he worked for a year at the firm of Phelps & Voyer in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
In 1973, he was hired by the British Columbia Legal Aid Society and returned to Prince George to open its first legal aid office. In 1975, he returned to private practice. He was appointed to the Provincial Court in 1991. He was married and had four children.{{cite web|url=http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/CanadianLegalHistory/LawArticle-1658/David-William-Ramsay-BC.aspx|title=David William Ramsay, BC|author=Lloyd Duhaime|website=Duhaime.org|accessdate=March 8, 2015}}
Crimes and prosecution
During his tenure as judge, Ramsay on multiple occasions picked up aboriginal girls as young as twelve and sexually assaulted them. He insisted on not using a condom, and on one occasion, when the girl resisted, he became enraged and smashed her head against the dashboard of his car.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/former-b-c-judge-admits-to-beating-sexually-abusing-teens-1.484272|title=Former B.C. judge admits to beating, sexually abusing teens {{!}} CBC News|work=CBC|access-date=2018-04-07|language=en-US}} Several of these young women appeared before him in court.{{cite web|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2004/2004bcsc756/2004bcsc756.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150309224507/https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2004/2004bcsc756/2004bcsc756.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 9, 2015|title=CanLII – 2004 BCSC 756 (CanLII)|website=Canlii.org|accessdate=March 8, 2015}}
A special prosecutor, Dennis Murray, Q.C., was appointed to investigate the charges. Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm of the British Columbia Supreme Court was appointed as judge.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/bc-judge-throws-the-book-at-sex-criminal-colleague/article999827/|title=B.C. judge throws the book at sex-criminal colleague|access-date=2018-04-07}}
Ramsay was indicted in August 2002.R. V. Ramsay, 13 BCAC 176. Six weeks later, in September 2002, he attempted suicide. On May 3, 2003, he pleaded guilty to five of the ten charges in the indictment; the other charges were stayed.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/former-b-c-judge-pleads-guilty-to-sex-offences-1.497294|title=Former B.C. judge pleads guilty to sex offences|work=CBC|access-date=2018-04-07}}
He was convicted of one count of breach of trust, one count of sexual assault causing bodily harm, and three counts of sexual exploitation of a child. In June 2004, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/former-b-c-judge-denied-parole-1.693102|title=Former B.C. judge denied parole|date=September 12, 2007|website=Cbc.ca|accessdate=March 8, 2015}}
Three years into his sentence, Ramsay applied unsuccessfully for day parole in 2007 on the grounds that he had terminal cancer. He died in Dorchester Penitentiary on January 19, 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=8de2fa0b-83c0-48e3-a35d-3846e3d5f490|title=Former judge David Ramsay dies in jail|accessdate=2015-03-08|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622043719/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=8de2fa0b-83c0-48e3-a35d-3846e3d5f490|archivedate=2015-06-22}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{Discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Canada}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, David William}}
Category:Judges in British Columbia
Category:Canadian people who died in prison custody
Category:Judges convicted of crimes
Category:People from Prince George, British Columbia
Category:Criminals from British Columbia
Category:Child sexual abuse in Canada
Category:Incidents of violence against girls
Category:Child sexual abuse in law enforcement
Category:People convicted of sexual assault
Category:People from Halifax, Nova Scotia