Indecent assault charge laid after RCMP probe into abuse allegations at Manitoba residential school
An allegation has been made following a decades-long investigation into allegations of abuse at a residential school in Manitoba.
The province confirmed Thursday, a person has been charged with assaulting a woman in connection with an investigation into the former Fort Alexander Boarding School in northeast Winnipeg.
The Manitoba RCMP did not comment on the allegations on Thursday, but said more information would be provided during a news conference on Friday morning.
The school was opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became the First Nation of Sagkeeng, and closed in 1970.
Mounties said that officers from the major crime unit began reviewing the residential school in 2010 and a criminal investigation begins next year.
Police said the investigation involved a review of school records, including lists of students and staff.
Officers also interviewed more than 700 people across North America.
Mounties said last year that the RCMP was awaiting advice from the province’s Crown prosecutors on the charges.
The Sagkeeng First Nation recently discovered 190 anomalies during a search near Fort Alexander using ground-penetrating radar.
Initial data showed an anomaly that matched some grave standards, but community leaders said more information was needed.
Fort Alexander School has a reputation for abuse.
Survivors told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the famine and harsh discipline. Children from nearly two dozen countries first arrive at school for about 10 months of the year.
The commission’s final report said Phil Fontaine, former Chief of Staff to the Manitoba Council of Chiefs and former head of state for the Council of First Nations, had put the residential school experience on the agenda. nationalism in 1990 when he revealed her own sexual abuse at Fort Alexander.
Support is available to anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.
A national Indian Neighborhood School Crisis Line has been established to provide assistance to former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis helpline: 1-866-925-4419.
