A 97-year-old nun in Canada is facing multiple charges connected to alleged sexual assaults at a notorious residential school for Indigenous children in the 1960s and 1970s. According to the CBC, the Ontario police have charged Francoise Seguin, a nun with the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, with three counts of “gross indecency.” Although the offence was repealed in 1987, it can still be filed in historic cases involving sexual assaults or child sexual abuse. Seguin worked at St. Anne’s Indian Residential School in Fort Albany, northern Ontario from 1958 to 1968. Her next court date is scheduled for December.
The Ontario Provincial Police have revealed that they received a late report last year about alleged offences committed at St. Anne’s, as well as a day school in Moosonee and a detention facility in Sudbury. According to the Globe and Mail, the charges brought against Seguin relate to a single victim, a young male student at the time. Bill Dickson, spokesperson for Ontario Provincial Police, said that they have no information about any other victims but cannot speculate. Former students of St. Anne’s have spoken out, alleging physical and sexual assaults that occurred over many years, including instances such as being forced to eat their own vomit and being punished in a makeshift electric chair. In addition to Seguin, four other former staff members have been convicted of offences, including indecent assault.
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, Deputy Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, commended the victim for coming forward. She highlighted the difficulties faced by victims when sharing their testimonies and the lack of belief and justice system support experienced by First Nation citizens. Achneepineskum emphasized the need for the Sisters of Charity to acknowledge their role in the traumas inflicted upon Indigenous children in residential schools, stating that they should not be able to escape accountability. (Read more Canada stories.)
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
