Robert Riley Saunders, a former social worker with BC’s Ministry of Child and Family Development, has been sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding vulnerable, primarily Indigenous, teenagers in his care.
Saunders showed little emotion as Judge Steven Wilson handed down the sentence Monday morning in British Columbia Supreme Court in Kelowna: five years for fraud and two years for breach of trust, to be served together, plus an additional month for forgery.
Crown prosecutors sought a prison term of between six and eight years, while the defense argued for two years of house arrest, followed by three years of supervised release.
Judge Wilson handed down a sentence closer to the Crown’s recommendation than the defence’s, ruling that Saunder’s main motivation was greed and, as a gatekeeper of government resources, he took advantage of the young people in his charge.
Saunders pleaded guilty in September 2021 to three of 13 charges, including defrauding the province of more than $5,000, breach of trust in relation to his duties as a child protection caseworker and causing the province to act on a forged document.
The court heard he misappropriated more than $460,000 meant for childcare.
Before his sentencing, Saunders expressed “sincere remorse”, saying he was sorry for his employer, his co-workers and the young people and families affected.
Saunders has been out on bail since his initial arrest and was taken into custody immediately following the sentencing hearing.
Young scammed
The former foster children, most of whom are indigenous, had accused Saunders of taking them away from stable, loving homes on the streets or more independent living situations as children. They said he then used joint bank accounts to take government help for himself when it was meant to fund his care.
The offenses began in 2001 and continued until Saunders, 50, was fired from the Ministry of Children and Family Development in 2018.
Many clients claim they were left homeless as a result of Saunders’ behavior. Some said they suffered physical and sexual abuse and ended up living with addiction.
The province settled a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit in the case last year.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said more than 100 victims had come forward to register claims. Because anyone who was in charge of Saunders is eligible to receive between $25,000 and $250,000 in compensation, the province could pay up to $15 million.
Saunders was first hired by the ministry in 1996. He used a fake bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Manitoba as part of his original employment applications, according to court documents.
He worked in Kelowna, BC, but disappeared from the Okanagan city after being laid off.
Saunders eluded civilian officials for months and was arrested in Alberta in December 2020.
Lawyers involved in the class action said they could not find Saunders to serve on the suit, but had heard rumors that he spent part of the past two and a half years working at golf courses in Calgary and Winnipeg. .