Three rural Manitoba teens facing sex assault charges in hockey hazing incidents

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Three teenage boys were arrested Monday and will be charged with sex offences following allegations of hazing on a rural high school hockey team.

Two incidents of hazing, allegedly victimizing five teen boys who were rookies on the Prairie Mountain Mustangs, happened in November and January, Manitoba RCMP said Tuesday. The alleged victims were 15 and 16 years old.

The three boys arrested are all 17 years old. Two will be charged with sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault and forcible confinement when they appear in court. The other will be charged with sexual assault and assault.

The three suspects were released ahead of a court appearance scheduled in Winnipeg on June 10.

Team at Winnipeg tournament during alleged incident

The Mustangs are a co-op AA varsity boys’ high school hockey team with players from three rural schools in three different school divisions. The incidents were alleged to have occurred at two different Winnipeg hotels while the team from the Pembina Valley area was in the city to play in weekend tournaments, RCMP said.

The team’s roster included players from Prairie Mountain High School in the Prairie Spirit School Division, Ecole Regionale Notre Dame in Division scolaire franco-manitobaine and Miami School in the Prairie Rose School Division.

One of the high schools’ principals, who had been alerted by coaching staff, called a rural RCMP detachment on Feb. 20 to report the allegations. The divisions also investigated internally.

The three school divisions released a joint statement late Tuesday afternoon declining comment on the charges.

“The school divisions and schools involved have been working hard to support the students and families. Divisional efforts have included restitution work, revamping of policy and procedure, as well as an internal awareness/education campaign,” said the statement.

“We will continue to work to support the students and families involved while expanding awareness around hazing.”

RCMP major crimes Staff Sgt. Richard Sherring, who supervised the officers conducting the investigation, would not elaborate on what is alleged to have occurred at the hotels, citing the age of those involved and the court process.

“We talked to several people in the community — on the team, at the school, the school board, the coaching staff, so on and so forth,” Sherring said Tuesday.

“Everybody was very co-operative with us and provided information that led us to the arrests.”

He said hazing allegations are concerning.

“It is important that youth know that their actions can lead to very serious consequences, and every person who’s involved in sports should feel safe,” he said.

“It is important that youth know that their actions can lead to very serious consequences, and every person who’s involved in sports should feel safe.”–Staff Sgt. Richard Sherring

Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association executive director Chad Falk said his organization learned of the criminal charges after receiving calls from media Tuesday.

“We were, obviously, aware of the allegations that were brought forward and have been in close contact with the three school divisions involved in the hockey co-op,” said Falk. “I’m expecting that we’ll circle back with them and discuss.”

He said MHSAA needs to learn more about the students accused — if possible, considering privacy concerns — in order to determine its next steps.

“That’s likely indefinite suspension pending the outcome of the legal matter,” Falk said, adding the association takes hazing seriously.

“Any incidents of hazing are, obviously, deeply disturbing and we just want to mention that the association, in co-operation with Sport Manitoba, have been really working hard on all matters of awareness, prevention and action on safe sport in our province.”

The school divisions withdrew the Mustangs from the provincial playoffs in light of their internal investigations into the allegations before the boys were arrested.

More scrutiny of bullying behaviours

Wayne McNeil, who co-founded Respect Group Inc. with former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy to combat bullying and abuse in sport, said historically, victims were afraid to report hazing, as it was often sanctioned by and sometimes involved coaches.

“We’ve been doing this work 20 years trying to get ahead of it, with prevention and education… I do feel that with all the work we’ve done, people are more aware of it,” McNeil said.

“When it does happen, it gets reported quickly in a transparent way, and if police are needed, they’re called in quickly.”

He said hazing can have lifelong effects, and expressed hope the victims in this case get the help they need.

Jay Johnson, a professor in the kinesiology and recreation management faculty at the University of Manitoba who has long studied hazing, said it is difficult to gauge exactly how common hazing is in youth sport of late, after interruptions when COVID-19 emerged.

Research suggests it was relatively common before the pandemic.

“How pervasive is it? It still goes on, but perhaps there’s been some changes, some overt ones and subtle ones, too,” Johnson said.

Wider awareness and outsider scrutiny has led bullying players to conduct the behaviour in secret, and coaches are no longer sanctioning it, he said.

He said police investigations, arrests and charges are a relatively new development, and greater awareness has empowered more victims to come forward.

“We’re seeing the police and the courts more willing now to be involved in hazing-related infractions,” said Johnson.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca