Brother of alleged Sask. group home victim upset accused was granted release
A man who thought his brother would "flourish" during his time living in a Hepburn, Sask. group home says he's now "filled with guilt."
Due to a court-ordered publication ban to protect his brother’s identity, CTV News is using a pseudonym for the man’s first name.
Fred says his now 62-year-old brother who lived in Shepherd’s Villa for roughly 25 years is one of five of Brent Gabona’s alleged victims.
Gabona, 52, faces five counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability. According to police, the assaults are believed to have occurred between 1992 and 2009.
“We thought that this was where he would flourish, where he would be safe. Now all we have are questions and thoughts that his days would have been filled with dread,” he told CTV News.
He says the shock of the news is still settling in.
“Five helpless individuals allegedly assaulted over a period of years, and one of them is your brother. A man who is blind, autistic, has some cerebral palsy and is a severe epileptic. How is he supposed to process this when I can't?”
In 2014, Fred relocated this brother to Alberta, where he resided in another group home until the start of the pandemic. He now cares for him at home.
“While we’re still in shock and overwhelmed by this, I find myself having to speak out … these are people who were fully dependent on Brent Gabona.”
In a statement last week, Shepherd’s Villa said the group home had “no knowledge of the alleged abuse” and is fully cooperating with the RCMP’s investigation. It’s also conducting its own investigation.
The statement said Gabona has not been employed at the care home since 2009. The other alleged victims are no longer residents of the group home.
The alleged assaults were reported to Rosthern RCMP on April 19 and Gabona was arrested last week.
Fred says Gabona has been released from custody on conditions and hopes to seek “proper justice.”
“It sends to me the message that you can be accused of committing serious crimes, but you can go home and watch the hockey playoffs while your alleged victims are left to reel in the horror of it all,” Fred said.
Fred hopes that by speaking out he can be a voice for his brother and the four other alleged victims.
He says Shepherd’s Villa has not reached out to him but would be interested to learn more about what allegedly occured under its roof.
“Peace is being able to look at the foothills and the mountains that surround our home and see the beauty again because right now all I feel is sadness.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.