Hello listeners, Jordan here. I just want to let you know that you can listen to nighttime early and add free on Amazon music

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Before we begin, I want to give a content warning. This episode involves discussion of the sexual exploitation and abuse of a child

Listener discretion is advised

You are tuned to the nighttime podcast focused on the fringe of Canada

Hello listeners, let me start by saying I've never been into clowns and especially not the type of clowns that can be hired to attended children's birthday party for cheap and easy entertainment

There's something about an adult in makeup wearing a ridiculous outfit and getting close to kids, but it just gives me the heebie

Jebys

Perhaps that's why I've always cringed at the thought and the presence of my hometown clown

Fortunately by the time Dale Rancourt began making appearances around Cape Breton Island as Clotsy the Clown

I was old enough to not be at risk of being subjected to his brand of over-the-top and unrefined clownmanship

But for a period spanning a little more than a decade

He would have been hard pressed to find a Cape Breton on familiar with Dale Rancourt and his character Clotsy the Clown

He was both a children and adult entertainer bouncing his way between birthday parties, old folks, homes, social gatherings, and public events

Doing, well, being a clown and not an especially good one

His makeup and his outfit were as modest as the Ghostbusters themed car he would randomly shout out the window to kids in

The only skills that Dale Rancourt seemed to have were an ability to stretch a buck, a knack for self-promotion, and a serious lack of inhibition

He certainly wasn't universally respected but somehow he managed to find a place for Clotsy the Clown in Cape Breton's entertainment economy

But it's all gone now. Both Dale Rancourt and Clotsy the Clown are far beyond redemption

Of all the rules society place on the adults we trust around our children

Dale Rancourt broke a few of the most important ones

Good evening everyone, we begin here tonight with sex charges against a well-known children's entertainer in Cape Breton

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