National org. says Sask. caregiver who sexually abused group home residents should face maximum penalty | CBC News
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WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse.
A national group that advocates for people who have intellectual disabilities says a Saskatchewan man should face the harshest possible sentence for the abuse he committed against vulnerable adults in his care.
Brent Gabona worked as a caregiver at Shepherd’s Villa, a group home for adults with severe disabilities in Hepburn, Sask., from 1992 to 2009.
Thirteen years after leaving the group home, he confessed to police that he sexually abused five residents who were under his care.
Gabona pleaded guilty earlier this year to criminal charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability. On Wednesday, lawyers made their sentencing submissions to a provincial court judge in Rosthern, Sask.
Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli said Gabona should spend 15 years in prison. Gabona’s defence lawyer said his client should serve 6.5 years, telling the judge that Gabona was remorseful and a devout Christian who has the support of his friends and family.
“We want to see the maximum sentence imposed, I mean, given the heinous nature of the crimes against a vulnerable population over such a prolonged period of time,” said Robin Acton, president of Inclusion Canada, a national group that advocates for the rights and well-being of Canadians with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Inclusion Canada has called the nature of Gabona’s crimes beyond distressing.
Where were the safeguards?
Acton questioned why there weren’t safeguards in place at Shepherd’s Villa to protect its vulnerable population.
Gabona has confessed to targeting non-verbal residents so they could not report what he was doing to them. Acton said non-verbal people do communicate, but the people caring for them need to be paying attention.
All of Gabona’s victims were discharged from the group home because they began to display behavioural issues. Gabona remained employed, according to an agreed statement of facts submitted at his sentencing hearing.
Acton said the system appears to have failed the victims.
“Behaviour is a way of communicating,” she said. “Where are the checks and balances? Where is the system in looking at why is it that this many people, [that] their services were discontinued because of behavioural issues?”
She also questioned what processes were in place that allowed Gabona to be hired at the group home in the first place. Court heard he was hired by his own mother, just months after being convicted of a sexual offence against a minor. At Gabona’s sentencing hearing, the Crown prosecutor said his mother had been “well aware” of the conviction.
Featured VideoThe sentencing hearing for Brent Gabona, a man who admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing adults who depended on him, took place on Wednesday in Rosthern, Sask.
Gabona will be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2024.
His crimes and his ability to commit them so freely for so long have broken the trust between people living with intellectual disabilities and the people employed to support them and keep them safe, according to Inclusion Saskatchewan, which advocates for people who have intellectual disabilities in the province.
“These deeply disturbing crimes reveal that there are significant issues around the reporting and identifying of sexual assaults perpetrated against persons with intellectual disabilities, and a clear need for more oversight and vetting of support professionals,” said Bluesette Campbell, president of Inclusion Saskatchewan, in a statement.
A risk in group home settings
Inclusion Canada said people with intellectual disabilities are five times more likely than other people to experience sexual assault, and they are most often abused by people paid to support them or people in relationships of trust. People living in group homes have been identified as being at high-risk of abuse.
Acton said there needs to be better polices in place to protect disabled people currently living in group settings, but that ultimately there needs to be a shift in the standard model of care.
People living with disabilities could be safer in an independent home environment with a network of caring people around them — especially people who aren’t paid to be there, Acton said.
“There is a role in people’s lives for paid support, but there are challenges when all they have in their life are people who are paid to care for them. We set up a [power] differential between the paid caregiver and the person receiving care,” she said.
“What keeps people safe and secure is relationships with others, those relationships that are freely given.”
Support is available for anyone who has suffered sexual assault. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or 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.
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