A civil lawsuit was filed in Saskatoon Court of Kings Bench on Wednesday, March 8 against Brent Gabona, Myrna Andres, Shepherd’s Villa group home in Hepburn and the provincial Ministry of Social Services.
The lawsuit, launched by Rick Boguski, the younger brother and legal guardian of former Shepherd’s Villa group home resident Darryl Boguski, seeks financial compensation for the ongoing medical treatment and psychological counselling Darryl requires as a result of the repeated sexual, physical and emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of former Shepherd’s Villa care home aide Brent Gabona between 1992 and 2009. It also seeks financial compensation for Rick Boguski for lost income after taking on the role of primary caregiver for his brother; and for medical and counselling expenses.
Rick said the civil lawsuit is not about money.
“What we’re seeking is accountability,” said Rick in an interview March 9. “A civil lawsuit is the only recourse we have have in order to receive justice in this case. It’s painful, because the details outlined in the statement of claim are graphic, but it’s important to get this out into the public eye. It’s been swept under the rug for years, and this is the only way for the facts to come out.
“We’re learning new information every day. What’s important at this point is that any former group home workers who can recall anything, even if it doesn’t relate to the sexual abuse, but relates to the general treatment toward Darryl, we’d like them to come forward and give us evidence.”
Rick is hoping that anyone with information on incidents at Shepherd’s Villa group home during the period when Brent Gabona worked there from 1992 to 2009 will contact him via email at rlboguski@gmail.com.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Rick cover the cost of legal fees for the civil suit.The GoFundMe account is ‘Justice for Darryl Boguski’.
Rick said the lawsuit already presents a strong case, but there are still unanswered questions that the court proceedings could shed light on.
“The big one is, why was the abuse allowed to go on for so many years,” said Rick. “I believe there are group home workers that may have some answers for us.”
The lawsuit names as defendants:
* Brent Gabona of Waldheim, who pled guilty March 8 in Rosthern provincial court to several counts of sexual assault and sexual assault of a person with a disability;
* Myrna Andres of Saskatoon, who is Brent Gabona’s mother and was also his supervisor at Shepherd’s Villa;
* Shepherd’s Villa Inc., a group home in Hepburn; and
* The Government of Saskatchewan through its Ministry of Social Services, specifically the Community Living Services Delivery branch.
The statement of claim outlines how Darryl, who has an intellectual disability, is autistic, has limited verbal communication abilities, is epileptic and blind, was relocated from Valley View Centre in Moose Jaw (where he had lived since 1977 when he was 17 years old) to Shepherd’s Villa in 1990.
According to the statement of claim, Darryl was discharged from Shepherd’s Villa in 2015 as a result of a decision made by Shepherd’s Villa that Darryl’s behaviour was unmanageable. From 1992 until 2009, Brent Gabona “repeatedly and violently sexually assaulted and sexually battered Darryl” over a period of 17 years. Darryl’s behaviour was consistently reported as deteriorating, becoming out of control and difficult for staff to manage from the time Brent Gabona began working at Shepherd’s Villa; and there were numerous incidents where Darryl suffered injuries, including rashes or bruising to his chest and genitals. During this time, Brent Gabona “contrived to conceal his conduct and made reports implying or stating that Darryl was acting out, hurting himself and would inquire whether Darryl was behaving sexually inappropriately as part of the effort to avoid discovery of his misconduct.”
As more incidents of acting out on Darryl’s part were reported, Shepherd’s Villa and Myrna Andres pursued increases in prescribed drugs for Darryl, which eventually put Darryl’s health in peril.
Brent Gabona left Shepherd’s Villa in 2009 to work as a manager at a facility providing work for disabled adults.
On Darryl’s discharge from the Hepburn group home in 2015, he was placed for a time in the psychiatric ward at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. Darryl was diagnosed as autistic in 2016 and was eventually moved to another group home in Humboldt. Rick expressed concerns that the group home in Humboldt was not a safe place, but his concerns were ignored by the Ministry of Social Services. Rick moved Darryl to Alberta in 2016, and became Darry’s guardian through a court order in 2018. Darryl has resided with Rick full time in Alberta since 2020, where his behaviour has undergone a dramatic improvement.
Rick was informed by the RCMP in April, 2022 that Brent Gabona had confessed to sexually assaulting Darryl during his time at Shepherd’s Villa. Since then, the brothers have made several trips to Saskatchewan for court hearings. Each of those trips have taken an emotional, physical and financial toll.
Rick said he expects the civil case to take at least a year before it reaches a court hearing.
“By the grace of God, sometimes I wonder how we’ll ever get through this and heal,” he said. “But I believe that if we get an opportunity to sit down and ask people questions, and get the answers we are seeking, then the healing will come.”