Trigger Warning: This article contains discussions of sexual assault which may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122. All programs are easily accessible, free of charge and confidential.
A recent lawsuit by a former cadet camper isn't the only allegation of sexual assault against the Vernon Cadet Camp that's making its way through the courts.
An anonymous cadet filed a May 26 against the the Army Cadet League of Canada and the Attorney General of Canada, alleging they were physically and sexually assaulted, battered and bullied while at the Cadet Camp as a young child in 2007. The Army Cadet League denied liability, telling The Morning Star that the responsibility of supervising, caring for and managing cadets and cadet instructors instead lies with the Canadian Armed Forces.
The former cadet had alleged they had been abused by a cadet leader while other staff and volunteers at the camp turned a blind eye.
It's not the first allegation of sexual assault at the Vernon Cadet Camp.
In 2023, another former cadet filed a lawsuit alleging that a captain at the Vernon camp groomed and raped them in the 1970s, when the cadet was a "vulnerable child." The lawsuit alleges the captain took advantage of the trust and respect he had deliberately built up, and groomed the young cadet by leveraging his family life, which included an absent father and the cadet's "need for a father figure."
The rape allegedly took place 46 years ago, in the fall of 1979. It is alleged the captain visited the former cadet's city and invited them over to a hotel room, where the alleged rape took place.
The lawsuit claims the complainant in the case wasn't the only one abused by the captain.
"(The captain) engaged in patterned or habitual predatory behaviour wherein he would befriend adolescent boys accessed through the Cadets Canada program, gaining their trust. (He) gravely breached that trust in carrying out the grooming and the rape of the plaintiff and others. (His) stature in Cadets Canada and the larger community ensured the boys' loyalty and secrecy."
Similar to the recent lawsuit, the 2023 claim says the Attorney General of Canada had a responsibility and opportunity to prevent the abuse.
The complainant in the 2023 case issued a statement through their lawyer, Sandy Kovacs, reacting to the May 2025 lawsuit.
香蕉视频直播淭his is unbelievable to me that in 2007, almost 30 years after my own abuse, another child was abused," the complainant said. "I can only assume there were many in between. This has to stop. Child sexual abuse is a scourge on humanity. It impacts a person香蕉视频直播檚 entire life, and that in turn impacts others and society at large."
The complainant said cadet camps need to be incentivized to protect children through better safeguards and systems that are reliably enforced.
"Protecting children from foreseeable harm must be a priority. Lip service is not enough. It is my reluctant belief that this will only happen through the continued threat of litigation, and I offer my full support to the survivor who filed this recent lawsuit," the complainant said, while encouraging others to come forward.
Kovacs echoed her client's words.
"Institutions are not adequately incentivized to have robust and reliable safeguards with 香蕉视频直播榗arrots香蕉视频直播� alone. Exposure to the continued threat of litigation is a 香蕉视频直播榮tick香蕉视频直播� that also changes institutional behaviour," she said in a statement. "We need only look to the example of Scouts Canada or sporting organizations, who have taken steps 香蕉视频直播� no doubt encouraged by their insurers 香蕉视频直播� to implement rules and systems such as the '' to keep kids safe."
Kovacs said the civil suit isn't just about obtaining money, it's also a tool to deter people in society who may otherwise feel they can commit acts of abuse with impunity.
"Many of our youth-service organizations remain susceptible to predators seeking to exploit children, including cadets. Every survivor I work with is motivated to effect change, and protect another child from the harm they suffered, which has led to so much pain and loss," Kovacs said.
Response to allegations
In response to the 2023 claim, the Attorney General of Canada acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations and the courage of the complainant to come forward, but said it has no knowledge of the captain's conduct alleged in the lawsuit.
"Canada denies that it is liable as alleged in the claim. Canada specifically denies that it is at fault and or committed any of the alleged acts or omissions that give rise to the causes of action alleged in the claim," the Attorney General's response reads. It adds that the complainant was not in the federal government's care while at the hotel where the alleged rape occurred.
The captain filed a response denying the grooming allegations at the camp and claiming he was not in B.C. at the end of the summer of 1979 and was in New Brunswick for the start of the school year in September of that year.
Kovacs said her client's case is tentatively set to go to trial in the fall of 2027.
