Calgary teen accused of rape lived in same foster home with alleged victims

Three young children, said to be raped by a teen boy living in the same foster home, have been removed while the accused attacker is in custody.

Police said a witness called after seeing an “assault in progress,” at the Calgary home just before 10 pm. Tuesday.

The victims are two, four and six years of age — the case, especially given the tender age of the accused, disturbing even to veteran investigators.

“This one, dare I say, is more shocking than most,” child abuse Det. Stephen Johnston said.

“It is definitely shocking and quite horrifying.”

Human services ministry officials, which handled child welfare cases and would have placed the suspect and three victims in the home, is investigating given the “very serious allegations,” spokeswoman Roxanne Dube Coelho said.

That includes looking at the placement, quality of care. training of foster parents and how it was monitored.

She said support is being provided to all four children.

“In situations such as this, kids would be removed from the home and put into alternate placements,” she said.

“Technically, we would be the guardian for all of them, and like any parent want to make sure kids have what they need.”

The accused, who only recently turned 13 and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, attended school and was never on the police radar for anything serious, has been in custody since his arrest and that’s where he will stay until a bail hearing Monday.

The charges, three counts of sex assault and three counts of sexual interference, stem from allegations the three were attacked on Jan. 3, but cops have not ruled out there were other incidents or possibly other victims.

While Johnston said it was a “third party witness,” who called police, sources said it was someone completely unrelated to the home who saw an assault from a window vantage point.

“This has been a horrifying incident for the witness, as well,” Johnston said.

They are also looking into the possibility the accused was a victim of sex assault.

At any given time there are about 4,600 children in provincial foster care and there have been past incidents that have raised concerns about the system.

Last August, the province ordered a report into how the system failed a toddler slain in her home despite family’s concerns she was in peril.

A child advocacy centre, tailored to strengthen the safety net and see fewer children fall through the cracks, is slated to open later this year.

Currently, Garry Prokopishin, once named Foster Parent of the Year, is before courts accused of sexually assaulting kids in his care.

nadia.moharib@sunmedia.ca

Twitter @ sunnadiamoharib