A 92-year-old retired priest has been charged with sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school more than five decades ago..Retired Father Arthur Masse was hauled out of his Winnipeg home, arrested, and charged Thursday with one count of indecent assault in connection to abuse alleged to have happened between 1968 and 1970 at Fort Alexander Residential School..And so ends a 10-year Manitoba investigation involving 80 RCMP investigators who combed through thousands of archival documents, interacted with 700 people across North America, and assessed 75 victim and witness statements..A decade-long investigation. One person, One charge..That’s it..The Manitoba investigation is concluded unless others step forward claiming to be victims of sexual abuse..There’s no time limit under the law to report a sexual assault. .The courts will determine if Masse is a predator, in his late 30s at the time, who targeted and violated a vulnerable, helpless little girl. .He was released with conditions and scheduled to appear in court on July 20..If he’s proven guilty, may he rot in jail — or hell — whichever comes first.."The (alleged) victim in this case has endured a lot throughout the investigative process and has stood firm in speaking out about what happened to her," RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre told a news conference Friday.."The most important thing to her, today, is she was heard.".One person will be heard..But if there are more who should be, police couldn’t make a case over an entire decade of trying..In February 2010, allegations of abuse at the Fort Alexander Residential School were brought to Manitoba RCMP’s Major Crime Services..The school opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became Sagkeeng First Nation. It closed in 1970..The criminal investigation was launched by Manitoba RCMP in 2011.. “The size and scope of this investigation has meant many years of investigative work,” said Manaigre..“The emotional trauma experienced by victims of abuse is very real, and despite the years that intervened between the alleged occurrences and when police were investigating, that trauma is still present. Investigators were aware of that trauma and approached the investigation in a way intended to limit further injury.”. “Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, many of the victims were not able to participate in the investigation, whether that be for mental or physical health reasons or because the victim is now deceased,” said Manaigre..The RCMP invested a lot of time and manpower to come up with one charge in the absence of hard proof for any other charges..So, a cloud of shame, uncertainty, and anger over what may have happened in residential schools will prevail over Canada..Decent Canadians have been haunted and shamed for decades by whispers of allegations of rampant sexual abuse occurring in residential schools..And some doubt the extent of the sexual abuse..Did victims suffer in silence? Did their complaints go ignored for decades? Are they crying inside for justice? Too damaged and wounded to try to seek it?.Children who are sexually assaulted carry the excruciating torment with them into adulthood..Are predators living out their golden years in comfortable freedom? Or did they go to their graves unpunished for their heinous sins?.Many who attended residential schools have good memories. But the people who ran those schools and were good to these children, devoting their lives to caring for them, are still lumped in with monsters that may have roamed the halls..Meanwhile, there’ll always be those on standby to exploit real or perceived injustices and milk whatever they can out if it for personal gain while claiming to fight for victims. .With so many unanswered questions in the absence of hard evidence, they are empowered to continue to do so..No matter how you look at this, it is a sad travesty because the truth and justice on so many levels still eludes us..A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) has been set up to provide support for former Residential School students.
A 92-year-old retired priest has been charged with sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school more than five decades ago..Retired Father Arthur Masse was hauled out of his Winnipeg home, arrested, and charged Thursday with one count of indecent assault in connection to abuse alleged to have happened between 1968 and 1970 at Fort Alexander Residential School..And so ends a 10-year Manitoba investigation involving 80 RCMP investigators who combed through thousands of archival documents, interacted with 700 people across North America, and assessed 75 victim and witness statements..A decade-long investigation. One person, One charge..That’s it..The Manitoba investigation is concluded unless others step forward claiming to be victims of sexual abuse..There’s no time limit under the law to report a sexual assault. .The courts will determine if Masse is a predator, in his late 30s at the time, who targeted and violated a vulnerable, helpless little girl. .He was released with conditions and scheduled to appear in court on July 20..If he’s proven guilty, may he rot in jail — or hell — whichever comes first.."The (alleged) victim in this case has endured a lot throughout the investigative process and has stood firm in speaking out about what happened to her," RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre told a news conference Friday.."The most important thing to her, today, is she was heard.".One person will be heard..But if there are more who should be, police couldn’t make a case over an entire decade of trying..In February 2010, allegations of abuse at the Fort Alexander Residential School were brought to Manitoba RCMP’s Major Crime Services..The school opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became Sagkeeng First Nation. It closed in 1970..The criminal investigation was launched by Manitoba RCMP in 2011.. “The size and scope of this investigation has meant many years of investigative work,” said Manaigre..“The emotional trauma experienced by victims of abuse is very real, and despite the years that intervened between the alleged occurrences and when police were investigating, that trauma is still present. Investigators were aware of that trauma and approached the investigation in a way intended to limit further injury.”. “Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, many of the victims were not able to participate in the investigation, whether that be for mental or physical health reasons or because the victim is now deceased,” said Manaigre..The RCMP invested a lot of time and manpower to come up with one charge in the absence of hard proof for any other charges..So, a cloud of shame, uncertainty, and anger over what may have happened in residential schools will prevail over Canada..Decent Canadians have been haunted and shamed for decades by whispers of allegations of rampant sexual abuse occurring in residential schools..And some doubt the extent of the sexual abuse..Did victims suffer in silence? Did their complaints go ignored for decades? Are they crying inside for justice? Too damaged and wounded to try to seek it?.Children who are sexually assaulted carry the excruciating torment with them into adulthood..Are predators living out their golden years in comfortable freedom? Or did they go to their graves unpunished for their heinous sins?.Many who attended residential schools have good memories. But the people who ran those schools and were good to these children, devoting their lives to caring for them, are still lumped in with monsters that may have roamed the halls..Meanwhile, there’ll always be those on standby to exploit real or perceived injustices and milk whatever they can out if it for personal gain while claiming to fight for victims. .With so many unanswered questions in the absence of hard evidence, they are empowered to continue to do so..No matter how you look at this, it is a sad travesty because the truth and justice on so many levels still eludes us..A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) has been set up to provide support for former Residential School students.
