$13M class-action settlement approved for sexual abuse at N.L. youth homes
Judgment says abuse occurred at 3 Newfoundland institutions for young offenders and youth in care
Newfoundland and Labrador's Supreme Court has approved a $12.8-million class-action settlement for victims of sexual abuse at several provincial youth facilities from 1973 to 1989.
The judgment, dated Aug. 31, says the abuse occurred at three Newfoundland institutions for young offenders and youth in care that were operated by the provincial government, the sole defendant in the case.
The written decision from associate chief Justice Rosalie McGrath says the sole female plaintiff in the case alleges she was sexually assaulted by three different staff members from 1979 to 1982 at a girls' home.
McGrath says one male plaintiff accused a priest from the boys' institute in Whitbourne, N.L., of taking him to a cabin, drugging him and then sexually assaulting him.
The document says a third male plaintiff said he was sexually assaulted "many times" by two guards at the Whitbourne school in 1974.
The $12.8-million settlement includes $12.5 million for claimants and administration fees, as well as $10,000 for each of the plaintiffs and $250,000 to publicize the case so that others may come forward and make abuse claims.