Pictou County man pleads guilty to historical sexual abuse against his 3 children

A Pictou County, N.S., man has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his three children in a case that dates back decades.

Douglas Guthro Sr. admitted to his crimes in Nova Scotia Supreme Court at a hearing Wednesday in Pictou.

The 86-year-old, who was originally charged with 16 counts of sexual violence, pleaded guilty to eight counts.

Justice Frank Hoskins accepted the plea this time after previously being concerned at a hearing in January about whether Guthro Sr. fully understood the gravity of pleading guilty.

Guthro Sr. underwent a fitness assessment by a forensic psychiatrist following that hearing and Wednesday told the judge he understood his plea.

His lawyer, Pavel Boubnov, said he went over the agreed statement of facts several times with Guthro Sr. to make sure.

Guthro Sr. sat in the witness box by the judge as the Crown read out the agreed statement of facts, revealing disturbing levels of abuse that he carried out against all three of his children for years.

The victims, who are now in their fifties, took the unusual step of removing the publication ban on their names to break their silence at a hearing in July 2024.

Doug Robertson, Susan Farrell and Sheri Colbert all came forward with complaints to the RCMP the year before that.

The facts before the court showed all three recall being around the age of six or younger when the abuse began at the family home in Alma, N.S.

Their father preyed on them in their bedrooms, sometimes after reading children's stories.

Manipulated into silence

His levels of manipulation were also referred to in the hearing.

The court heard how Guthro Sr. told his oldest daughter, Susan, she would break up the family if she told anyone.

His son, Doug, who has since changed his last name, did not disclose what was happening because he was afraid about what people would say.

The siblings did not speak about this to each other until much later.

"I hope when people see this ... it might give them strength to speak out or get help themselves," said Robertson. "There is help there, there is support."

'We demanded justice'

Robertson was the only victim in court as his sisters now live in Ontario.

Having to endure the details all over again was almost unbearable, he said.

"I put my head down and it was extremely emotional. I barely looked up at all. It was overwhelming," he said.

Farrell said in an email to CBC News she and Colbert will be in the courtroom alongside Robertson when their father is sentenced.

"This has been a long and emotional process, but we demanded justice and the guilty plea delivered that for us today," Farrell's statement said.

Senior Crown counsel Bill Gorman said the case was among the most disturbing he has been involved in.

"It's particularly disturbing in that it is not one isolated event, but it's a progression basically from eldest to youngest of the children, and it went on for a prolonged period of time," Gorman said in an interview. "The facts are horrific." 

The siblings have shown tremendous courage throughout, Gorman noted, following such an "egregious breach of trust."

"To have their story out there in the public domain and in the open world to be discussed, you don't see that kind of courage every day," Gorman said.

Guthro Sr. is banned from any areas where there are children and is not allowed contact with his victims.

A sentencing hearing has been set for April 11.