Teacher Related

A retired priest has been charged with indecent assault after a decade-long probe into a Manitoba residential school was revealed on Friday.

At Fort Alexander Residential School in Manitoba, 92-year-old Arthur Masse was arrested and charged with one count of indecent assault on a 10-year-old girl.

This occurred between 1968 and 1970, while she was still a student at the university, and the accusations were made public in February of 2010. As recently as 2011, a criminal inquiry began.

RCMP Media Relations Officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre stated, “The size and scope of this investigation has meant many years of investigative work.”

The Sagkeeng First Nation constructed and closed the school in 1970. Until integrating indigenous students, the Canadian government ran a system of residential schools from 1831 to 1996. More than half of these organizations are managed by the Catholic Church, which has a long history in this country.

Atrocities like rape and hunger were recorded in a report produced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015.

Due to the passage of time, RCMP officers claimed they had 75 witness and victim accounts, but many were unable to participate due to their age.

As Manaigre pointed out, “despite the years that intervened between alleged occurrences and when police were investigating,” the emotional trauma suffered by abuse victims remains there.

According to the report, the Manitoba RCMP is solely investigating residential schools in this state. It is anticipated that Pope Francis will apologize for the Catholic Church’s involvement in operating schools when he visits Canada at the end of the month.