3rd lawsuit accuses late Winnipeg lawyer, minor hockey coach of sexual assault against minor

WARNING: This story contains distressing details of sexual abuse.

A man who says he was sexually abused by a late Winnipeg hockey coach and lawyer when he was a teenager is suing the man's estate, in what is at least the third suit filed against the estate.

The plaintiff, who uses the pseudonym John Doe in the lawsuit to protect his dignity and well-being, filed the statement of claim against the executor of Robert Dawson's estate in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench in Winnipeg on Sept. 27. 

The 27-page lawsuit alleges Dawson, who was a certified amateur hockey coach for the Assiniboine Park Rangers team, "embarked on a grooming and victim finding expedition" during the 1994-95 hockey season.  

Dawson, who died by suicide in October 2021, was "intent on finding the most vulnerable among the minor athletes on the Rangers to prey upon, exploit, victimize, and ultimately sexually assault," the lawsuit alleges. 

The suit also names the Assiniboine Park Hockey Association, Hockey Winnipeg, Hockey Manitoba and Hockey Canada  as defendants, saying each oversaw the operation of the Rangers hockey team in some capacity.

Dawson, then 57, was charged in September 2021 with sexual assault and child pornography offences after two people came forward to report he assaulted them in their early teens, Winnipeg police said at the time. He was found dead a month later.

In December 2022, another former Winnipeg minor hockey player filed a lawsuit against Dawson's estate, alleging he was sexually assaulted by the coach in the 1990s.

And in March of this year, another man filed a lawsuit against Dawson's estate, alleging the late lawyer befriended him when he was 17, invited him to live at his home and then treated him as a sex slave.

Suffered abuse for 2 years: lawsuit

The most recent lawsuit alleges John Doe suffered abuse throughout the two years he played on the team, from 1993 to 1995, when he was 13 to 15 years old.

During team practices, games and events, Dawson would routinely ask the team's players, including John Doe, intrusive and inappropriate questions about their home lives, drug and alcohol use, and sex lives, the lawsuit alleges. 

Dawson also told the players to remove their clothing in front of him while flexing their muscles and would take photos of players in various states of undress, according to the statement. 

When the team stayed in hotel rooms for away games, Dawson routinely engaged in behaviour that enabled him to graze the genitals of the minor athletes, including the plaintiff's, without their consent, and generally tested the athletes' reactions to determine who he could prey upon and who would push back, according to the statement of claim.

Dawson learned the plaintiff had an unstable home life, where his parents were either absent or relatively uninvolved, and arranged for him to earn extra income by filing work for his law practice at his home office, the lawsuit alleges. 

In early 1995, he asked John Doe to be a child actor in what he said was a video for the Law Society of Manitoba about the dangers of witnessing childhood sexual abuse. The lawyer then filmed while he sexually and physically assaulted the minor, which included fondling his genitals, tying him to a bed to restrain him, forcing him to wear a ball gag and blindfold, and masturbating him, according to the lawsuit. 

The suit alleges Dawson used his position of power to pressure and intimidate the plaintiff into agreeing not to disclose the sexual assaults to others. 

Defendants aware of predatory behaviour, suit alleges

The suit also claims the defendants and coaches on the Rangers team were aware Dawson had a tendency to engage in predatory and sexually abusive behaviour, which led them to hold a team meeting warning athletes to never be alone with him. 

Meanwhile, Dawson was permitted to continue coaching for the Rangers and cultivate trusting relationships to groom his future victims, including the plaintiff, the statement of claim says. 

The lawsuit also alleges the defendants failed to have policies in place condemning abuse and predatory behaviour, to provide counselling or treatment to victims and to encourage players to report cases of assault. 

Victor Bargen, the lawyer for the executor of Dawson's estate, did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment from CBC, nor did the other defendants named.

None of the allegations have been tested in court and no statements of defence have been filed.

The abuse continues to be very painful for John Doe to speak about, the statement of claim says, and has led to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, lack of trust, low self-esteem, addiction issues and difficulty maintaining healthy relationships. 

The suit says he is seeking general damages for the loss of past and future income and to cover any health-care treatment expenses. 

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, here's where to get help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.
• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.