Alleged victim of rape by military cadets captain says 'I want my suffering to mean something'
CBC
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
A B.C. man who alleges he was raped by a Cadets Canada leader when he was a teenager says it's time for the organization to wrestle with the "ghosts of the past" and make real change to protect children.
The former cadet filed suit in B.C. Supreme Court last month, alleging he was groomed at camp in the Okanagan and then sexually assaulted in a Victoria hotel room by a cadets captain in 1979. He was 13 or 14 years old at the time.
"I was destroyed," the plaintiff told CBC in an email. "I was a young man who was just starting out learning how to be confident and how to trust. This absolutely shattered all aspects of my life and changed the course of where I could have been."
As an alleged victim of sexual assault, the plaintiff is not named in the notice of claim and is referred to by the initials A.B. He has applied to the court to remain anonymous throughout the proceedings.
A.B.'s notice of claim alleges that the federal government, in its responsibility for the cadet's program, "was complicit in an operational culture with Cadets Canada that enabled perpetrators … to sexually abuse cadets."
It goes on to accuse the organization of "silencing" victims and other whistleblowers, concealing evidence of sexual abuse complaints and prioritizing the avoidance of scandal over protecting children.
A.B. said he reported the alleged attack to Victoria police "a number of years ago," and there was a thorough investigation, but in the end, no charges were approved.
He said he's gone ahead with a civil claim in the hope that he can effect change at a systemic level rather than just addressing a single crime and a single offender.
"I want my suffering to mean something," A.B. wrote, describing lawsuits as a tool that can be used to force reform from the outside.
"The future of Cadets Canada, and the safety of children, cannot be assured unless the ghosts of the past are first reckoned with, and systemic change does not happen internally."
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and neither the federal government nor the accused former cadet leader has filed a response. CBC has not been able to reach the alleged rapist for comment.
A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, which is responsible for the cadet program, said it would be inappropriate to comment while the allegations are subject to litigation.
The cadets program is open to children between the ages of 12 and 18 and aims to "instill Canadian military values" in participants, according to the Cadets Canada website. About 46,000 youth are currently enrolled in the program.
Nova Scotia Power is providing more information about the cyberattack on the utility earlier this year and its response in the months that followed.
A rare old-growth forest in Quebec’s Mauricie region is at the centre of a growing conflict between conservation advocates and the provincial government, after forestry roadwork was authorized in an area currently under review for protected status.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York sought an interview with ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor for connections to Canadian sex offender and fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
A mother is grieving after a carbon monoxide incident killed her 11-year-old son and put her husband in hospital in critical condition.
Just as Alberta begins to dig out from its last winter storm, most of the province is preparing for another blast of snow and brutal cold, just in time for the holidays.
The B.C. Conservative candidate for the Surrey-Guildford riding in the 2024 provincial election, which was narrowly won by the B.C. NDP, has now abandoned a lawsuit that sought to invalidate that result.
A new suite will soon be available for the families of patients receiving care at P.E.I.'s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
TTC ridership was lower than expected this past fall despite a push by some employers to bring employees back into the office, according to a TTC draft budget document.
Extreme cold is drawing near the prospect of rolling blackouts in Whitehorse.
Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey says federal help for Prince Edward Island's struggling oyster fishery is expected early in the new year.
Calgary police have charged a man with defrauding numerous seniors out of about $186,000 in a string of incidents over a five-week period.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.