Lawyers, St. Calls for public inquiry into years-long abuse allegations at St. John’s caravan park

The lawyer representing six people who claim they were sexually assaulted by Tony Humby is calling for a public inquiry.

Stephen Barnes wants the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to be put under the microscope to determine why previous investigations involving Humby did not result in criminal charges. CBC Investigates’ previous report, based on untested search warrant documents, showed Humby had been known to police since at least 2007, when a 16-year-old boy accused Humby of drugging and raping her.

Police arrested Humby on April 6, 2023. He is currently accused of abusing a total of 11 young people.

“We need to know who knew what and when,” Barnes said. “I would like to know why, despite numerous interactions between Mr. Humby and the police, no arrests were made until recently.”

Barnes does not believe those answers will come from processes already underway, including an active police investigation, criminal investigation and a review of the child protection system by the state’s child and youth advocate.

He said a public inquiry would have the power and resources to gather evidence and get answers.

Humby denied 33 charges, including sexual assault, sexual interference and forcible confinement. He has yet to enter a plea to 39 more recent charges, including child luring and producing child pornography.

His alleged accomplice, 82-year-old Bruce Escott, faces 14 charges. He has pleaded guilty to one count so far as part of a deal with the Crown and will be sentenced on Friday.

Alleged victims question how previous investigations were handled

Many of Barnes’ questions stem from a pair of investigations in the fall of 2007 detailed in search warrant documents — which have not been tested in court — that a provincial court judge ordered unsealed for CBC Investigations.

According to the documents, a 16-year-old boy went to police and told them he had been raped by Humby, who was 47 at the time. She gave a detailed statement to the police and had a rape kit collected from the local hospital.

Humby was summoned to RNC headquarters on September 20, 2007. He denied the alleged victim’s allegations in an interview with police. After the meeting, he was told that no charges would be filed.

The rape kit was destroyed, according to search warrant documents. Barnes said his client was told it was never analyzed.

Court documents reveal another interview with police just three weeks after the 2007 rape complaint.

Humby arrived in St. Petersburg at 3 a.m. He was pulled over on Blackhead Road outside St. John’s. Police found her with three boys in her car, two 16-years-old and one 13-year-old. I was drinking.

There is nothing in the search warrant files to indicate Humby was taken into custody that morning. One of the boys was later interviewed by police but insisted nothing happened that night, according to the documents. Humby declined to speak to the RNC, citing the advice of his attorney.

The police would return to both cases 16 years later with a different result. Humby is now accused of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old complainant starting in September 2007 and is accused of assaulting the 13-year-old boy in the months following the traffic stop.

Both of the men, now in their early 30s, are among those who hired Barnes to investigate possible lawsuits against the RNC and the state.

“This really raises questions for my client, who went to the police to complain in 2007 and had a rape kit in her possession… and they never analyzed it before concluding that her complaint against Tony Humby had no merit,” Barnes said. in question.

Humby was involved in nine police investigations between 2007 and 2021, according to search warrant documents. He was not charged until 2023.

Child welfare system needs investigation, lawyer says

When Lynn Moore saw her first CBC Investigates story on Sept. 24, her mind went back to a long line of child abuse scandals in the province’s past, from boys abused at Mount Cashel Orphanage to the murder of one-year-old Zachary Turner. In 2003.

“Here we go again,” said the attorney, who has lived in Mount Pearl for a long time. “We have a system that doesn’t protect children, and it’s a system that should protect children, but it doesn’t.”

Moore believes there needs to be a public inquiry to understand how inadequate child protection laws are.

WATCH | Lynn Moore explains how the child protection system is “failing vulnerable children”:

‘Extremely tragic’ abuse case stems from years of government inaction, lawyer says

Lawyer Lynn Moore, who took steps for the public inquiry, St. She discusses why a sexual abuse case in St. John’s represents the dangers facing youth in the care of the state’s child welfare system, saying systemic failures leave them vulnerable.

The state government introduced new legislation in 2010 to replace the old Children, Youth and Family Services Act, which came into force in 1998. The old law was built on seven basic principles; one of which was “prevention activities”. When new legislation came into force in 2010, the guidelines were removed and Moore says prevention was no longer considered a priority.

Moore believes he has created a system that favors the simple tool of removing children from their homes over more complex options that would prevent abuse and keep children with their families.

“They looked at the system and said we weren’t doing a very good job. So instead of giving the system the resources it needed to protect children in this state, they decided to do less,” Moore said. he said. .

Moore also objects to the definition of a child in need of protection in current legislation.

If a child is abused by someone other than his or her parent and the parent makes efforts to stop it, the legislation does not recognize that child as in need of protection.

“Their predators are not, and should be, not in charge of protecting children,” Moore said.

Premier Andrew Furey instructed the state’s Child and Youth Advocate Linda Clemens Spurrell to: to examine “Policies and procedures” in the child protection system.

But Moore doesn’t believe the review is sufficient. The lawyer has concerns about his situation previous role In the child protection system during the critical years of the Humby investigation. He also believes that the scope of the review and the resources available to counsel are very limited.

“I really think the province needs a public inquiry to examine best practice in how people do child protection properly in this country, because we’re not. We’re failing.”

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