Foster dad facing sex charges
By NADIA MOHARIB
CALGARY -- Police accuse a Calgary man once named “Foster Parent of the Year” with numerous sex-related offences spanning several years.
As the disturbing allegations were revealed Thursday, those who know the 51-year-old long-time foster parent say they cannot believe the man they know as a pillar of the community could be guilty of engaging in sex acts with underage boys.
Garry Prokopishin, a director for the Calgary & District Foster Parents Association, is charged with luring a child via a data device, three counts of obtaining or attempting to obtain sex from a person under age 18 and sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority.
Police allege he offered cash in exchange for sex acts.
They also said they found evidence of inappropriate cell phone camera images.
The charges stem from an investigation started by child abuse detectives last summer after an agency, who they would not disclose, contacted them with concerns about the foster home in Beddington where Prokopishin and his wife took in high-risk youth, police spokesman Kevin Brookwell said.
“These are kids who have had some trouble with the law and issues with substance abuse they were working through,” Brookwell said.
Prokopishin was the primary care-giver for his three alleged victims, police said.
Police tracked down 13 of 55 foster children, all boys ranging from age 14 to 17, who lived in the home over the past 20 years as part of the investigation.
They still want to track down the other individuals fostered in the home over the years.
“Our investigators have literally travelled from one end of the country to the other to try to talk to these kids,” Brookwell said.
“There is the potential there could be other victims.”
The alleged offences happened between January 2006 and April of 2008.
The operation was shut down immediately after the investigation began.
Children and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz learned of the charges Thursday and ordered an investigation into the case, spokesman Trevor Coulombe said.
“She wants to know what occurred from A to Z and wants the report in her hands as soon as possible,” he said.
Joanne Atkinson, general manager at a Royal Canadian Legion branch where Prokopishin worked in the dining room for the past 20 years, said she is shocked by the charges.
“I would find it hard to believe,” she said.
“Garry is a nice man.”
While many fellow foster parents are also incredulous there could be any merit to the allegations, Brookwell said the investigation was exhaustive, involving interviews with youth fostered in the home, friends and associates to garner “corroborating evidence” before charges were laid.
Prokopishin is out on $800 bail.
— with files from Bill Kaufmann and Kevin Martin