Convicted Maple Leaf Gardens abuser faces 15 new sex charges

Gordon Stuckless was re-arrested this morning — his second arrest in two months — and faces 15 new charges relating to alleged sexual assaults involving boys during the 1960s and 1970s in various locations in Toronto, including Maple Leaf Gardens, police say.

Stuckless, who was convicted in 1997 for sexually abusing 24 boys when he worked at the Gardens between 1969 and 1988, was charged Friday in connection with five new male victims, said Detective Const. Roger Villaflor of the Toronto police sex crimes unit.

The alleged incidents happened in the 1960s and late 1970s, when Stuckless volunteered at local sports clubs as a coach and was employed at Maple Leaf Gardens, said Villaflor.

"Stuckless befriended the boys who were between nine and 13 years of age," he said during a news conference Friday. "Stuckless sexually assaulted them at various locations within the City of Toronto, and also at Maple Leaf Gardens."

On Friday, Toronto police charged Stuckless with:

• Nine counts of Indecent assault — male.
• Five counts of gross indecency.
• Buggery.

More victims investigated

However, in addition to the five new male victims, Toronto police have referred other complainants where the alleged incidents happened outside Toronto to York Regional Police, he said.

York Regional Police are conducting their own investigation, Villaflor added.

Stuckless spent a considerable amount of time in York Region as a teacher and volunteer with minor sports clubs, Villaflor said.

Friday's arrest and new round of charges came a month after Toronto police laid fresh charges against Stuckless, 64. Those charges included six counts of indecently assaulting a male, one count of assault, and another count of possession of a weapon or an imitation, police said.

He was released on bail on those charges, and re-arrested Friday morning, said Toronto police Const. Wendy Drummond. 

Last month's charges relate to allegations that in the late 1970s Stuckless assaulted an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy in Toronto at a school, community centre and many other locations, police say.

At the time, Stuckless, originally from Newfoundland, was a teacher's assistant and volunteered at a local community centre and sports clubs in Toronto, police say.

Villaflor said Friday that even with the new allegations being brought forward, investigators believe there are still more victims.

Stuckless was convicted in 1997 of sexually abusing 24 boys when he worked at the Gardens between 1969 and 1988. He served two-thirds of his sentence and was paroled in 2001.