Documents Show the Canadian Army

Cadets Program Is Plagued With Sexual

Abuse Allegations
By Justin Ling Vice News Canada
November 26, 2014

Photo of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, via Facebook page.

VICE has obtained documents that prove that the Canadian Forces' cadet program has
grappled with hundreds of cases of sexual assault, harassment, discrimination, and
abuse. And according to these files, the program is often run by men with "less than
stellar motives" in positions of power. Likewise the Department of National Defence has
been panned for their inaction on this rampant issue.
Court records and documents obtained through Access to Information requests show
that the military training program, frequently held on Canadian Forces bases across the

country, has been rife with sexual assault and harassment. And though the military
manages the program, investigations frequently fell through and charges were rarely
laid.
The documents provided, which span over four decades, outline a culture of
harassment and assault in the program, which is for prospective military recruits aged
12 to 18. Many of the cases involve older staff members, or Canadian Forces
personnel.
The program is federally sponsored, and frequently held on Canadian Forces bases, but
it is not directly a government program. Staff of the cadet program are not necessarily
Canadian Forces members, but the programwhich is especially targeted at troubled
youthfrequently take place on military bases.
Nevertheless, military police were frequently called to investigate allegations against
cadets, staff, and military personnel during the program. Other times, provincial police
and prosecutors were given the casesand, more often than not, they declined to
pursue charges.
The issue has come to light thanks to an anonymous source who collected the
thousands of pages of documents and brought them forward to VICE.
The Scope of the Problem
Pinpointing just how many cases of assault, harassment and abuse occurred in the
program is virtually impossible.
While some records tabulate the number of cases in a given year, many others do not.
The documents obtained by VICE cover about half of the last decade, as well as
intermittent years dating back as far as the mid-1970s. Many of the documents that
were released are heavily redacted to remove the identities of the individuals involved,
and many of the details around the alleged acts.
Documents from the years 2000 to 2001, however, detail 312 cases requiring
investigation. Amongst them is a litany of issuesfights breaking out, bullying, indecent
comments and the like. The majority were resolved by apologies, warnings, or
suspensions from the program.
But they also detail at least ten cases of sexual assault during the program that year.
In one case, a report reads: "One cadet sexually assaulted another. [Military Police] and
RCMP investigated, cadet was RTU'd."

RTU is military acronym for 'Returned to Unit,' implying that an officer on training is sent
back to their home base. In the case of criminal activity, it can mean that the officer is
potentially being sent back to face criminal charges.
Another reads: "Cdt(M) forced himself sexually upon Cdt(F) in a hotel room & restrained
her."
With respect to that case, the document reads that: "investigation complete. Admin
action is-" but the rest is cut off.
Several of the cases did result in RCMP involvement, and charges being laid. While
many were between cadets, one involved a male officer facing two charges for sexually
assaulting a male cadet in his barracks.
Records from 2005 to 2006 detail 36 cases of sexual offences, mostly of sexual assault,
with some prefaced by "(alleged)." It's not clear if those numbers are exhaustive,
especially considering the already low rate of report for sexual assault in Canada.
One of the headers in the spreadsheet of all the year's instances of sexual assault is
"action to take." Many of the cells read: "admin action?" Others say things like: "what if
any follow up?" Only a couple of the cells make mention of a trial.
In 2011, a spreadsheet reported 18 cases of sexual offences, most of which were
sexual assault, including one case of sexual assault with a weapon.
In that case, the documents read that: "the CFNIS [Canadian Forces National
Investigations Service] is investigating." The document doesn't reveal the outcome.
Documents from other years did not contain tabulations of the number of sexual
offences.
Many instances detailed in these documents indicate that either an investigation wasn't
pursued, charges were not pursued, or the Forces sought administrative punishment
instead of criminal sanctions.
The reports obtained by VICE are summaries and memos, not investigation reports, and
are heavily redacted to protect the identities of individuals involved.
One memo details a sexual assault charge that was later dropped.
"RCMP was contacted and it was learned the sexual assault involved allegations of
[REDACTED] placing his hands up the shirt of [REDACTED] and placing his hands on
her breasts. After [REDACTED] were interviewed, [REDACTED] was [REACTED] reinterviewed, at which time it was learned that the Cdts were in somewhat of a

relationship and she had not been truthful in her original interview. After learning of this
information and determining that no sexual assault had occurred, RCMP advised they
would not be pursuing any formal charges."
Another memo summarizes a case where a service member was charged, and pled
guilty, to three charges, including sexual assault. This was an actual member of the
Canadian Forces, as opposed to a quasi-military staffer with the cadet program.
"On the night in question, either 15 - 16 Jul 09, between 2300 - 2330 hrs, he was on
duty in uniform and they had agreed to meet in the soccer field. He took her
[REDACTED] and they [REDACTED] He repeatedly told her [REDACTED] to which she
said "NO" after attempting to [REDACTED] and was [REDACTED] and again, she said
"NO" she did not want to. [REDACTED] was beside her [REDACTED] told him "NO"
[REDACTED]"
The service member saw no jailtime he served 20 months probation and was banned
from being in position of trust with girls under 16.
A history of abuse
The most damning part of the documents, which were obtained and released on Scribd
by an anonymous person or group of people working under the pseudonym 'C
adetAbuseAwareness,' is likely the raft of documents that cover the latter half of the
20th century.
Included are documents from a lengthy investigation into sexual assault at Canadian
Forces Base Valcartier, in Quebec.
One note attached to the cover of the 1981 report reads: "This is the final report on
[REDACTED] the CIL [Cadet Instruct List] officer who prepared young cadets for his
advances by administering tranquilizers."
Another note reads: "Yet another CIL officer molesting the cadets entrusted to his
command. The investigation is continuing."

Image via Scribd user CadetAbuseAwareness.

One memo summarizes a cadet's allegation: that the staff member molested him while
he slept, then, once he woke up, offered a pill to help "calm him down."
The subsequent report repeats that story, from multiple cadets, over and over. Some of
the pages are illegible, and are heavily redacted.
"When he approached the cadet and asked him what was wrong, the cadet responded
that he had a problem and that he wanted to talk to an officer. [REDACTED] when he
suggested that the cadet go see the [REDACTED] the cadet responded that he was the
problem and that he had made some propositions and that he wanted him to take some
drug."
A summary of that investigation reads that the unnamed staff officer allegedly molested
at least four cadets.
Further interviews mention that the staff member had been the subject of similar
accusations three years prior.
The reports also detail an initiation by a staff member called "Grand Schtroumpf"
French for "Papa Smurf." While the details of just what consists of that initiation are
redacted, except for the fact that it also involves a "Petite Schtroumpf," it was approved

by at least one other staff person on the base, and involved a bucket of cold water.
While it may not have been sexual in nature, a number of the male cadets who
participated later reported that the staff member crawled into their bed.

Photo via Scribd user CadetAbuseAwareness.

The documents do not explain the outcome of that investigation.
By comparison, a report from seven years later contains details of one cadet's
allegations that a staff member came into his tent, and touched him sexually. The
investigator, with the military police, reports that the staff member was arrested nine
days later.
These historical documents, which range from 1974 until the mid-1990s, appear to be
only a small selection of the overall records.
An exchange of letters from 1991 appears to highlight the internal logic on tackling
sexual harassment in the cadet program.

K.R. Foster, chief of the reservists and cadets in the Eastern Region, wrote a letter to
the chief of defence staff, forwarding a handful of investigation documents which, he
says, "reveal some disturbing occurrences within the leadership of the CF Cadet
system." The letter recommends overhauling the staff selection process.
"This subject was discussed recently at the annual meeting of the National Cadet
Advisory Group, which I chair. The representatives of the Cadet League share your
concerns, but are equally concerned at accusations, lack of support for the accused by
DND and the impact this is having on attracting volunteers."
While Huddleston does acknowledge the need to improve the quality of staff being
recruited, he also notes that "any youth organization will always attract some of those
people with less than stellar motives. Accordingly, our best defence and best damage
control will continue to be the education of cadets, thorough and fair investigations of
complaints, and swift justice for those found guilty."
Huddleston continues:
"However, we must remain sensitive to the potential for false accusations and ensure
that CIL officers are protected against unwarranted damage to their careers and
reputations. The Regional Cadet Officers have been encouraged to discuss these
issues in [Chief Officer's] seminars and in CIL training courses to ensure that CIL
officers are aware of all facets of the problem and that they understand not only the
correct way of dealing with cadets but also those circumstances or actions could
potentially be misinterpreted and lead to false accusations."
Going to the courts
Also included in CadetAbuseAwareness' cadre of documents is a collection of court
rulings from the past several years dealing with sexual assaults in the cadet program.
Several involve statutory rape charges, where a staff memberusually in their early20s to mid-30sdevelops a relationship with a cadet under 16.
Others, though, involve repeated issues of sexual assault.
In one, former cadet staff member Danny Davis was sentenced to more than two
years in prison for sexually assaulting three teenage boys.
Another case involves three attempted rapes taking place in the span of an hour. Each
time, A.M. Loughan air force technician who was staying on the same base as the
cadetsbroke into the room, beat the cadets, held them down, and tried to force sex.
He was caught, but not before assaulting one 18 year-old cadet.

The uploader of the documents added a note at the top of the court documents
"Cadets at camp are often told they cannot close or lock their doors for 'fire safety'
reasons."
Many cases highlight just how frequent the abuse could be, and how the abusers could
go on for so long without getting caught.
Conrad Sundman pleaded guilty to assaulting 14 boys over an eight -year
period.Gordon Thomas, also a teacher, was found guilty of molesting 14 of his
students and cadets over a 20-year period.
The issue was turned into a class action lawsuit in 2002, with the Vancouver Supreme
Court approving an application to sue the federal government for "systemic
negligence"when it came to investigating and preventing sexual assault in the cadet
program from the mid-1960s to 1970s.
The Department of Defence eventually settled with 81 former cadets for $10 million.
VICE requested an interview with Minister of Defence Rob Nicholson on the matter. The
request was refused, but his office did provided a statement, reading:
"Since 2006, our Government has continuously fought on behalf of victims and
enhanced the laws in this country to combat sexual assault. The Canadian Armed
Forces take the issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment very seriously. All
allegations reported to the Military Police are investigated. Where appropriate, charges
are laid and individuals are prosecuted. Sexual misconduct will not be tolerated within
the Canadian Armed Forces."