Alberta man fights extradition to U.K. over historical abuse allegations
Peter Murray, 88, of Wetaskiwin disputes surrender order issued in July over accusations from Scottish boarding schools in the 1960s.
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An 88-year-old Wetaskiwin resident is fighting a federal order to hand him over to the United Kingdom to face allegations of child abuse at Scottish boarding schools between 1965 and 1972.
Peter Murray was a teacher at the schools during the alleged assaults. An Alberta Court of King's Bench justice approved his extradition in February, and the federal justice minister issued a surrender order on July 9. Murray's defence lawyer, Stacey Purser, filed a judicial review application with the Alberta Court of Appeal on July 10 and is seeking to have the order set aside.
Purser argues Justice Minister Sean Fraser erred in approving the surrender of a Canadian citizen on allegations more than 60 years old and failed to independently verify that Murray was the person being sought. In court documents, Purser called the conclusion "unreasonable." The allegations involve accusations that a man known as Brother Peter physically and sexually assaulted 17 young students at St. Ninian's List D School in Gartmore and St. Joseph's List D School in Tranent, both operated by the De La Salle Order, a Roman Catholic religious order.
Murray strongly denies the accusations. In an affidavit, he said he "has never been accused of acting inappropriately with any child" during his work as a teacher and vice-principal in Alberta, where he has lived for more than 50 years. No charges have been laid against him in Canada.
A judicial review hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2027. Murray remains out on bail. If the Court of Appeal upholds the extradition decisions, Murray may seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, or may consent to surrender at any stage of the process.
