Brent Gabona of Waldheim, the man accused of sexually assaulting five individuals at a group home in Hepburn between 1992 and 2009, should be held in custody until his next court appearance in mid-June, according to the brother of one of the alleged victims.
“For this person to be free and walking the streets is an affront to all victims of sexual assault,” said Rob, whose real name cannot be used because there is currently a court-imposed publication ban on the identity the victims.
“My brother is one of five people who were allegedly sexually assaulted by this man over a period of 17 years. He was very vulnerable because he’s blind, he has cerebral palsy and he’s autistic; and now we learn that he was allegedly targeted by a sexual predator. I’m angry at a system that releases a potential monster back into the community.”
Rosthern RCMP issued a news release last week saying that on April 19, 2022, police received a report of sexual assaults that occurred at a care facility in Hepburn. The RCMP news release stated that subsequent investigation determined that between 1992 and 2009, five adult residents of the facility were sexually assaulted by a male staff member. The RCMP stated that the accused staff member had not worked at the facility since 2009.
As a result of the investigation, Brent Gabona of Waldheim was arrested on May 10, and charged with five counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.
Gabona made his first court appearance in Saskatoon on Friday, May 13. At that hearing, Gabona was released on several conditions until his next court appearance, scheduled for June 14 in Saskatoon.
On Tuesday, May 17, Rob contacted the Clark’s Crossing Gazette newsroom by telephone to express his extreme disappointment with the court’s decision to not keep Gabona in custody until his next court date.
In an interview, Rob stated he first learned of the allegations against the accused, and the alleged assaults on his brother, on April 20, when he was notified by police.
“It was an awful day,” said Rob. “I was completely knocked off balance. I had no idea anything like this could have happened. I thought my brother was in a safe place, in a small town.
“At the time he was a resident there, I was working and raising my own family in a different province. I wasn’t able to take care of him.”
Rob said in 2014, his brother was kicked out of the group home in Hepburn for “acting out.”
At that time, Rob moved his brother to another group home in Alberta. Two years ago, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rob removed his brother from that group home, and moved him to his own home in southwest Alberta, because he wanted to minimize his brother’s exposure to the virus.
Rob is currently the sole caregiver for his 62-year-old disabled brother. He has been caring for his brother 24/7 for the past two years.
Because his brother is non-verbal, Rob said there was no direct indication from his brother that he had suffered a series of sexual assaults.
“But now when I look through photos of my brother over the years he was there, I can detect there was a change in his looks and his demeanor. He became much more withdrawn. But I never suspected he might be the victim of sexual abuse by an alleged predator who may have preyed on him for up to 17 years.”
Rob said his brother is one of two surviving victims of the alleged sexual assaults. Three of the victims have since passed away, and the family of the other surviving victim does not want to speak publicly at this time.
“The challenge for me now is to figure out how my brother has been dealing with this for all these years,” said Rob. “My brother is non-verbal, so I’m the only voice he has. Together we are going to ensure that there is proper justice in this case.”