A man who grew up in Alberta’s child welfare system is suing the province for $11 million for sexual abuse he suffered while in care.
Steven Morin says Alberta Child Services failed to protect him from a convicted sex offender.
He says between the ages of five and nine, he was sexually assaulted – almost on a weekly basis.
Morin says what should have been a safe foster home was instead, a place of fear and trauma.
And the man who lived with his foster mother, John Edward Beaver, should never have been anywhere close to children he said.
“This man came back into our home, and when he came back into our home, he continued to abuse us,” said Morin. “But not only did he continue to abuse us, the abuse towards me severely accelerated.
“In the most horrendous disgusting ways you can think of.”
Beaver had a conviction of possession of child pornography, and sentenced to six months in prison in 1999.
(John Edward Beaver)
Then he was back in the foster home where Morin and other foster children lived and the sexual abuse continued.
Now, Morin wants Alberta Children’s Services to pay for failing to protect him.
“How could they have missed this man? If he was not a foster parent, how could they have missed this? If he was a foster parent how could they again have missed this? Time and time again, they missed it. Missed it.” said Morin.
Morin received a $35,000 dollar injury claim from an Alberta government fund for victims of crime. He said he was too young and foolish when he received the money. One month later, it was all gone.
He spent it on alcohol and hard drugs to help numb the pain.
He said he contemplated suicide.
It took years to recover, a road he is still on.
On September 10, Martin and his lawyer are attending a joint settlement meeting in court to decide whether a settlement is possible or whether the case should go to trial.
Morin wants others who were abused to demand compensation as well.
“If my lawsuit wins, then I’m hoping that setting the bar at eleven million, it’s going to show the government that we are not kidding around here,” he said.
Beaver was charged with more than a dozen counts of sexual assault.
But he would never stand trial for those charges. He died in his sleep in 2014.
The failure to protect a child leads to a lifetime of struggles and re-victimization. It never goes away, therefore the onus is on the government to compensate the victim and change the system.
Ateven I don’t even know ewhere to begein with my story my Uncle and his wife wwre foster pparents and I suffer from the age iof 5 too I think 11 till I told my school!!!So how does somepne like this become a CAREGIVER and destroy young girl and only get 6 months because he was a ustanding community member.. Who has caused=s so much pain. TRecently I lost my cousin Nancy who loved here child but she killed hersef ahw AS THERE ALWAQYS.
Steven how do I go to the court systems when i
t was the courts who took me away from my culture?
“Morin received a $35,000 dollar injury claim from an Alberta government fund for victims of crime. He said he was too young and foolish when he received the money. One month later, it was all gone.”
‼‼
Sorry but this $11Million he wants is absolute BS. Totally disagree.
Should ALL other abused people get that too?! Why only him?? ⛔
Why only 11 million? For my time in the POW camp I’ll be going much higher. I spent 17 yrs in care(POW camps) and I’ll aim high. They’ll probably wittle it down to less than a quarter.