Female corrections officer charged with sexually assaulting underage inmate at Manitoba Youth Centre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2024 (281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the second time in just over a month, police have charged an adult working in the Manitoba Youth Centre with sex offences — this time accusing a female corrections officer of assaulting an underage inmate.

The Winnipeg Police Service announced the charges in a news release Monday, saying its child abuse unit launched an investigation in October. Investigators believe the woman formed a relationship with the youth victim last February, it said.

“The relationship continued and resulted in multiple sexual assaults against the victim within the facility,” WPS said.

Staff became aware of the incidents and notified police, the release said.

Investigators arrested a 26-year-old woman at her home on Saturday. She’s been charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation and has been released on conditions barring access to anyone under 18, police said.

Her name hasn’t been released, as the charges have yet to be formally laid in court.

The arrest follows similar charges against another guard, announced by police last month.

Troy David Wensel of Winnipeg, 51, was arrested Nov. 12 and charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 years. He, too, was released with conditions prohibiting access to anyone under 18.

WPS launched an investigation in November 2023 after a female youth came forward and reported being sexually assaulted while incarcerated at the youth centre.

Police said the corrections officer formed a relationship with her between 2022 and 2023.

“During that time he provided her with extra canteen items, and in exchange, he sexually assaulted her,” police said.

Public-sector compensation disclosure documents released annually by the province show a T. Wensel was a juvenile counsellor on the government payroll as recently as March 31 — the latest report available. He was listed as earning more than $110,000 that fiscal year.

T. Wensel appears on such reports as early as 2020, when the government began publishing them proactively.

Corrections officers inside the youth facility are referred to as juvenile counsellors.

A provincial spokesperson previously declined to comment on the charges against Wensel, citing the ongoing investigation.

Asked whether the charges against the guard were a matter of public interest — given they occurred within a provincial facility tasked with overseeing vulnerable youth, and involved an employee funded by taxpayer dollars — the spokesperson said they cannot comment on “personnel matters.”

“Nothing to add at this time,” they said.

The charges against Wensel and the female accused have not been tested in court. They are presumed innocent.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca