Sentencing to begin for guilty pair in Indigenous boy's death

WARNING: This story contains details of violence and child abuse.

The sentencing hearing for the couple responsible for the 2018 killing of six-year-old Hesquiaht boy Dontay Lucas begins Thursday in Port Alberni, B.C. 

The boy's mother Rykel Frank (née Charleson) and stepfather Mitchell Frank were originally charged with first-degree murder in 2022 but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter late last year.

Advocates who have been calling for an inquiry into the "grievous acts of negligence" in the boy's death are planning a rally outside the courthouse before the sentencing hearing begins, and are calling on people to bring signs and drums, "or simply come as you are to stand in solidarity with the Lucas family."

Dontay was removed from foster care and placed with his mother and stepfather four months before he died. His move was overseen by Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services, the agency responsible for the boy's care.

Usma is an Indigenous agency delegated by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) to provide child welfare services. According to Dontay's biological father Patrick Lucas, the boy was taken into government care at birth.

The agreed statement of facts read out in court describes the abuse Dontay suffered while in the care of Charleson and Frank, including being bitten, beaten and forced to hang from his knees at the top of a door until he fell.

The autopsy found at the time of his death that Dontay had multiple severe blunt-force head traumas, severe respiratory illness and widespread bruising and abrasions to his face, head, neck and torso. The official cause of death given was blunt-force trauma to the head.

In January, Premier David Eby stopped short of committing to a public inquiry but said the government "will bring all the tools to the table."

"For Dontay's case, we will ensure that British Columbians get the answers they need, and in particular, that we get the information we need to prevent any similar deaths from taking place," the premier said.

Asked on Tuesday what steps had been taken to follow through on the pledge, Eby deferred to Children and Family Development Minister Grace Lore. 

"I have been working closely with the [Representative of Children and Youth] on work that she is undertaking to understand what happened here and what she's looking at in other cases where we have just seen devastating loss and violence against children," said Lore.

"Where there are additional steps that we need to take in our ministry, as minister, those are steps I'm going to take."

Late last year, a former investigative analyst with B.C.'s representative for children and youth spoke to the Times Colonist about her frustrations with the lack of action on Dontay's case.

Jody Bauche conducted a review of the death, according to the story, and called on representative Jennifer Charlesworth to conduct a full investigation.

"We had this information and we brought it forward and nothing happened," Bauche told the Times Colonist. "I wanted the representative to do far more on this file. Why does the office exist if you're not going to change anything?"

Bauche was subsequently threatened with legal action for unauthorized disclosure and a breach of confidentiality in a letter sent by Charlesworth's office.

Bauche's lawyer called the letter an empty threat designed to muzzle his client.

Charlesworth previously said a "comprehensive review" of Dontay's case was shared with MCFD and Usma in 2021, but the criminal proceedings have prevented her office from investigating further. The review was not made public.