Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press Published Friday, June 17, 2022 3:14 PM EDT Last Updated on Friday, June 17, 2022 5:46 PM EDT
WINNIPEG – A 92-year-old retired priest has been charged after a decade-long investigation at Fort Alexander Residential School in Manitoba.
Arthur Masse faces indecent assault on a 10-year-old girl who was a student at the school, the RCMP said on Friday. The alleged crime took place between 1968 and 1970 when Masse was a school worker.
The school opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became the Sagkeeng First Nation. It closed in 1970.
Chief Derrick Henderson said the arrest has opened up old wounds.
“People talked about it for many years. Did society believe them?” Henderson said.
“That’s what’s always the hardest part.”
In 2010, the RCMP received allegations of sexual abuse at the residential school.
Officers interacted with more than 700 people across North America during the investigation and obtained 75 statements from victims and witnesses. More than 80 researchers took part.
Police said the investigation meant reviewing the school’s archived records, including student and employee lists.
The RCMP Sergeant. Paul Manaigre said the emotional trauma the victims are experiencing can continue even after many years. He was still present while officers investigated, he said.
Manaigre said the investigation found the possibility of other victims and other perpetrators in the residential school. But over time, some people have died, there was not enough evidence or the victims did not want to file charges, he said.
“This is a traumatic experience. Some of them don’t want to relive it,” he said. “We understand.”
Masse was arrested at his home in Winnipeg. He is due to appear in court on Monday.
The Organization of Southern Chiefs called on law enforcement to investigate and re-investigate all claims surrounding residential schools.
Masse was part of the Catholic religious order called Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate.
Reverend Ken Thorson of the IMO Lacombe Canada said the Oblates condemn all cases of sexual abuse and “deeply” regret the survivors who have been harmed.
Thorson said in an email that the order is committed to participating in the investigation and will cooperate fully in legal proceedings.
Information collected by the Societe historique de Saint-Boniface, an archive in Manitoba, said that Masse was born in Ferland, Sask., In 1929. His first place was in the Fort Frances residential school north of ‘Ontario, where he remained until 1957. He later returned to that school in 1970 and supervised the student residence until it closed four years later.
Masse worked at various schools during his time away from Fort Frances.
Minegoziibe Anishinabe First Nation leader Derek Nepinak said Masse also spent time at the Pine Creek residential school in northwest Winnipeg and was “notorious.”
Fort Alexander School also had a reputation for serious abuse.
Survivors told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about hunger, sexual abuse, and harsh discipline. Children from about two dozen First Nations attended school for about 10 months a year.
Sagkeeng First Nation recently discovered 190 anomalies while searching for unmarked graves near the school using ground penetration radar.
Initial data show that the irregularities meet some of the criteria for the graves, but community leadership has said more information is needed.
Henderson said he was surprised to learn of the arrest Thursday. He recalled that the retired priest attended hockey games and other community events.
He said that while reliving the pain has been difficult, it is important that the truth comes out.
“This is one more step in this story, another chapter in this story of residential school abuse.”
The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their families who suffer trauma invoked by the memory of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 17, 2022.