October 28, 2005

B.C. clergy abuse case sent back to trial

CANADA
CTV

Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says a case of sexual abuse at British Columbia residential school run by a Roman Catholic religious order must go back to the lower courts.

In an 8-1 decision Friday, the justices ruled that a trial court should decide whether the Oblate order, which ran a residential school for native children off Vancouver Island in the 1950s and 1960s, was negligent in the sexual assaults committed by Martin Saxey, a school baker and handyman.

The victim, identified only as E.B. in court documents, was abused by Saxey from age seven until about age 11, although he told no one about it out of shame.

He won more than $233,000 in damages against the Oblates in 2001, but the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned that decision in 2003.

Posted by kshaw at October 28, 2005 07:05 PM