More charges at SJR
Sex assault probe finds additional alleged victims, incidents
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2010 (5780 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The sexual assault probe at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School has widened to include more alleged victims and incidents that now extend into a previous school year.
New charges against one of four former students at the centre of the police investigation show the alleged assaults on fellow boarding school residents began as early as February 2009 — not last fall, as the administration had initially maintained. Winnipeg police say a total of 16 young boys have said they were assaulted.
SJR headmaster Stephen Johnson said the school co-operated with police.
"I haven’t seen (the police) evidence… but obviously they began this bullying earlier than we originally heard," Johnson said. "I don’t know if it can be more serious than it is now — kids have been victimized in a way that is very inappropriate and very serious."
The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed Tuesday that the total number of victims had now reached 16 boys, after one young victim broke his silence in April and triggered the police investigation.
Additional charges have been filed against all four students who left the elite private school this spring, bringing the number of charges to 82.
Johnson said he wasn’t surprised more charges were filed against the four alleged attackers, but he was only aware of 11 victims — not 16 boys.
"We knew at some future point there would be subsequent charges," Johnson said. "So, we’re not surprised by it, but obviously it’s disappointing."
Johnson said the school interviewed the four students now facing charges and 11 students who the school believed were the victims, then gave transcripts of those interviews to police.
Johnson said he has personally phoned the victims’ parents to apologize and offer support.
"I think our job is certainly to support the kids that … are the alleged victims in any way we can and we will continue to do that."
The charges involve allegations that four senior students sexually assaulted younger students who were boarders at the SJR campus. Reports from the campus were that the senior students forced young classmates to the ground and threatened to sodomize them with a stick.
The school said the victims were in grades 8 through 11. Three of the accused attackers were in Grade 12 and the other was in Grade 11.
Winnipeg Police laid 23 more charges against an 18-year-old former SJR student two weeks ago and police confirmed Tuesday that dozens of additional charges were laid against the three younger students — two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old.
In documents presented to court at the end of June, police said new charges against the 18-year-old include: two counts of assault; 10 counts of sexual assault with a weapon; nine counts of forcible confinement and one count of uttering threats.
Most of the new charges against the 18-year-old student allege the offences occurred between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, 2009. One alleged attack against a student took place earlier, between Feb. 1 and April 30, 2009.
Police said Tuesday that 22 new charges have been laid against one of the youths; 13 new charges against a second youth and 12 new charges against the third youth. The charges against the youths include: sexual assault with a weapon, assault, possessing a dangerous weapon, uttering threats and forcible confinement.
All four accused are free on bail.
Johnson confirmed the four accused are no longer with the school: two were expelled and the other two were suspended and have since withdrawn from SJR.
Johnson said the school is continuing with a review of its policies and procedures and a report, with any recommendations for changes, will be forwarded to the SJR board in the fall.
Johnson said all the students identified as victims are returning to the school, if they haven’t graduated. He believes that is a vote of confidence in the school and how it has handled the situation.
"I think we take it as a vote of confidence from their parents that they think we’re doing the right thing and that we’re doing enough," Johnson said.
There are about 830 students at SJR, with 50 of them living on campus as boarding students.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca