Alleged victim of rape by military cadets captain says 'I want my suffering to mean something'
CBC
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
A B.C. man who alleges he was raped by a Cadets Canada leader when he was a teenager says it's time for the organization to wrestle with the "ghosts of the past" and make real change to protect children.
The former cadet filed suit in B.C. Supreme Court last month, alleging he was groomed at camp in the Okanagan and then sexually assaulted in a Victoria hotel room by a cadets captain in 1979. He was 13 or 14 years old at the time.
"I was destroyed," the plaintiff told CBC in an email. "I was a young man who was just starting out learning how to be confident and how to trust. This absolutely shattered all aspects of my life and changed the course of where I could have been."
As an alleged victim of sexual assault, the plaintiff is not named in the notice of claim and is referred to by the initials A.B. He has applied to the court to remain anonymous throughout the proceedings.
A.B.'s notice of claim alleges that the federal government, in its responsibility for the cadet's program, "was complicit in an operational culture with Cadets Canada that enabled perpetrators … to sexually abuse cadets."
It goes on to accuse the organization of "silencing" victims and other whistleblowers, concealing evidence of sexual abuse complaints and prioritizing the avoidance of scandal over protecting children.
A.B. said he reported the alleged attack to Victoria police "a number of years ago," and there was a thorough investigation, but in the end, no charges were approved.
He said he's gone ahead with a civil claim in the hope that he can effect change at a systemic level rather than just addressing a single crime and a single offender.
"I want my suffering to mean something," A.B. wrote, describing lawsuits as a tool that can be used to force reform from the outside.
"The future of Cadets Canada, and the safety of children, cannot be assured unless the ghosts of the past are first reckoned with, and systemic change does not happen internally."
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and neither the federal government nor the accused former cadet leader has filed a response. CBC has not been able to reach the alleged rapist for comment.
A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, which is responsible for the cadet program, said it would be inappropriate to comment while the allegations are subject to litigation.
The cadets program is open to children between the ages of 12 and 18 and aims to "instill Canadian military values" in participants, according to the Cadets Canada website. About 46,000 youth are currently enrolled in the program.
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