Trial Underway for Man Accused of Molesting 14 Boys at Sask. Residential School
The Starphoenix
BATTLEFORD -- The trial for a former dormitory supervisor charged with molesting boys under his care opened with a look at how the residential school he worked at in northern Saskatchewan was run. Paul Leroux, 73, faces 14 charges of indecent assault and three charges of committing gross indecency between 1959 and 1967 at the Beauval Indian Residential School. His three-week trial began Tuesday in Battleford Court of Queen's Bench. Leroux, who is representing himself at the trial, pleaded not guilty to each of the 17 charges. The identities of the 14 complainants are protected by a publication ban. Students at the Beauval Indian Residential School came from across northwest Saskatchewan. A video played during the first morning of the trial showed smiling children playing broomball, attending classes, celebrating Christmas, eating meals and getting ready to go to sleep in their dorm rooms, a stark contrast to the dark stories expected to be heard when the complainants begin to testify later in the trial. The charges of indecent assault and gross indecency involve unwanted sexual touching and sexual activity between men. Leroux, in a brief interview, called the charges and the trial "an incredible unprecedented abuse of process." "I think it's unbelievable I have to come to Saskatchewan at great cost to defend false charges," he said. Leroux previously served a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of molesting boys at a residential school in the Northwest Territories. The first three witnesses at the trial in Battleford on Tuesday were scheduled to be a fellow dorm supervisor and two teachers at the Beauval Indian Residential School, Crown prosecutor Mitch Piche said.
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