Canadian police announced Friday the arrest of a Catholic priest on suspicion of sexually assaulting an indigenous student 50 years ago, the latest charges against a person involved in the country’s historic boarding school scandal.
Arthur Masse, 92, now retired, was charged with “indecent assault” and was later paroled. He will appear in court on July 20.
Indigenous leaders are calling for the prosecution of the former teachers and coordinators of these boarding schools, following the gruesome discovery of more than 1,300 tombs where these centers once operated last year, revealing a dark chapter in Canada’s colonial history.
About 150,000 Native, Métis, and Inuit children were forcibly held in 139 boarding schools across Canada from the late 1800s to the 1990s. They spent months, even years, isolated from their family, language, and culture.
Many were physically and sexually abused. Thousands are believed to have died from disease, malnutrition or neglect.
The victim who led to Masse’s arrest was 10 years old when the abuses began at Fort Alexander boarding school in Manitoba between 1968 and 1970.
“The victim in this case has gone through a lot in the middle of the investigation process and has stood his ground to speak up about what happened to him,” Sergeant Paul Manaigre of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a news conference.
“On a day like today, the most important thing for him was to have his voice heard,” he added.
According to Manaigre, nearly 80 police officers participated in the decade-long investigation, which involved 75 possible victims and witnesses.
“This is the only investigation ever done” [em Manitoba] “This is done to internees, and that’s the only accusation that’s been brought forward,” he said.
source: Noticias
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