I was known as a broom boy: Teen sues Ontario hockey camp, former campers for alleged assault

Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

An Ontario teen and his parents are suing Eagle Crest Resorts, which runs Hockey Opportunity Camp in Sundridge, Ontario, and four former campers for an alleged “broomstick” assault six years ago.

Global News has agreed to protect the identity of the teen and his family, who spoke about the allegations on condition of anonymity.

“I was looking for my friends and went to one of the other cabins to see if they were there, when someone was at the door and said if I wanted to come in I had to be initiated,” said the teenager, who was then 12 years old.

“When I came in they all just grabbed me, threw me to the ground and held me. They attacked me with a broom and I couldn’t do much to stop it. I was able to get away and it was very traumatizing,” he said.

“I was held down, my arms and legs, when a kid with a broom tried to stab it in me from behind,” he added.

The teen said he recalled being then put “in a circle” in a room by staff with the campers allegedly involved in the incident.

“I remember that was one of the hardest parts. Because I was there with the kids who did it to me, had to talk about it in front of them… they wrote down all our names and let us go in a circle and say everything that happened. And it was very, very, very hard just because I was in the room with all the other kids,” he said.

The next day, before the scheduled time for parents to pick up their children, the teen said the “head of camp” informed the campers that their parents had been notified of the incident.

“He put us all cross-legged and basically told us that he informed our parents and there was no reason or reason to tell them,” he said.

The teen said the impact of the alleged attack is long-lasting and life-changing.

“When I told some of the kids at school what had happened, they told everyone and I was known as the ‘broom boy’ and it just stayed with me. And it just made my high school and high school hell because everyone knew me as ‘broom boy’ and it was just like glue and everything else just stuck and I was really bullied intensely,” he said.

His parents said they never got a call from the camp and only learned what allegedly happened after they cracked open their son for information.

“We asked him how the week had gone. There was a response from him and a friend that we immediately knew something had happened. He raised a red flag, a huge red flag,” the teen’s father said.

“We have arrived at the camp and you expect them and your child to be happy and happy. They just had a great week with their friends and we arrived and that’s not what we saw,” the teen’s mother added. “My husband spoke to our son and asked him, ‘Would you come back?’ And he said, ‘No.’ And when we pressed him why he wouldn’t come back, he said not to tell us. He couldn’t tell us. So we insisted that he tell us what had happened. And then we found out that he had been held and attacked by a group of boys with a broom.”

The couple said they wanted to speak to the camp owner and immediately contacted police.

“The only thing you look forward to when you leave your children in the hands of others is that they will be safe, that you trust that they will treat your child as you would treat someone else’s child in your care. And if something should happen, you will be informed immediately. We were not informed. The police were not called,” the teen’s father said.

“Not only is he attacked in that camp, but the owner of that camp decides not to call me. He decides not to contact the police. He makes the decision to put those guys who attacked my son and other kids in a room to talk about the attack. He makes the decision to tell my son and the other kids that it’s done and not to talk to their parents about it. What’s wrong with this culture? What’s wrong with a human being who can do that to a young 12-year-old child?” cried the teen’s mother.

Their attorney, Justin Linden, said he expects a court to find that the camp has “failed this child, other children who were victimized that day and abandoned their families.“

“They have been charged because their only job was to protect this child and they failed completely… what should have happened is that there should have been an immediate report. They should have called this exactly what it was, and they should have done something about it right away,” Linden said.

The teen’s parents said they were contacted by police six months after their initial call and were told no criminal charges would be brought.

“They stated that everything our son told them was substantiated, but because the boys who committed the attacks were 11 and 12 years old, they could not prosecute them,” the mother said.

“Part of the problem with these cases, these cases of sexual assault in hockey, is that the police have not filed charges and if no charges are brought, even if the boys are younger then these things are allowed to continue,” he said. . Linden, adding: “We are intervening with a civil claim to accountability, but the first line of defense against these things is the criminal trial. And it seems to us that there is very clear evidence of criminal behavior in relation to the guys who are doing this.” did, and in our opinion they should have been charged.”

“There has to be some responsibility for this. The old-fashioned script of denial, diversion and discredit must be thrown out because there must be accountability when the lives of young children are at stake,” said the father. “I think this culture of silence ultimately creates a deafening scream that you cannot ignore. And that scream is getting louder. Enough is enough. Our children deserve better.”

“I’ve struggled with the fact that we haven’t spoken out about this yet because I think we have a responsibility to all the other kids out there, to all the other little hockey players out there,” the teen said. mother, adding: “I think we have a responsibility to stand up and say this is not right. We have a responsibility not to remain silent.”

Global News contacted the camp’s lawyers and the four boys for comment. The boys’ lawyer indicated a request for a publication ban.

All charges are denied in both defences.

Eagle Crest Resorts described an incident “on the afternoon of August 12, 2016” in its defence, when “counsel heard some noise coming from cabin X (cabin number intentionally withheld for privacy purposes), and suspected that a game was involved.”

In the statement, the counsel added that “Campers were gently beaten/poked with a broom” and that defendants “specifically deny that the broom had entered the anus of one of the Campers at any material time, as is now being claimed.”

The camp did not immediately contact the parents as it was the last night of the camp and “the Campers involved said they were okay and unharmed.”

The camp said it discussed the matter with the parents of the four boys the next day, but did not have the opportunity to speak to the alleged victims’ parents because they had later picked up their son from a different location.

The statement also states that the police were not notified because the defendants “did not believe that one of the Campers considered the incident a sexual assault or a physical assault.”

No charges have been filed against Hockey Opportunity Camp, its owners or employees.

“I am very sad that my son had to be the one to speak, but I am so in awe of his courage, because only when we are vocal, when we say it is not right, can we only have change,” he said. the mother of the alleged victim.