Ex-swim teacher at N.S. youth corrections facility going through 66 sex-related expenses

A 75-year-old former swim teacher is going through dozens of expenses associated to alleged intercourse crimes in opposition to 30 youths at a Nova Scotia corrections facility between 1989 and 2015, RCMP say.

Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon was visibly shaken Wednesday when he introduced Donald Douglas Williams of Dartmouth, N.S., had been arrested at his dwelling on Saturday.

“This instructor held a position of authority, and the young people he victimized should have been able to trust him and feel safe with him,” McCamon stated as he drew a deep breath and paused to regain his composure.

“Sexual assault investigations are often complex and even more so when the time frame spans decades.”

The complainants are 29 boys and one lady, all of whom have been between the ages of 12 and 18 after they have been being held on the centre.

“Any time you’re dealing with something of this magnitude, there’s always a lot of emotion attached to that,” McCamon stated. “Whenever you speak to survivors or even witnesses of crime, you have to deal with those emotions. It becomes very heavy. These are tough investigations to work through.”

McCamon, appearing officer accountable for the Nova Scotia RCMP’s main crime part, stated all the alleged crimes befell within the Nova Scotia Youth Centre in Waterville, N.S., the place Williams labored as a swim teacher between 1988 and 2017.

The accused faces a complete of 66 expenses, all associated to his work on the centre. The expenses embrace three counts of sexual assault inflicting bodily hurt, 28 expenses of sexual assault, 32 expenses of sexual exploitation, and expenses of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and assault. McCamon stated extra expenses in opposition to Williams are anticipated.

Asked if police have been searching for different potential perpetrators, McCamon stated, “Right now, Doug Williams is our focus.”

McCamon inspired anybody with allegations or details about what occurred on the centre to return ahead.

The RCMP investigation — often called Operation Headwind — began in 2018.

In July 2023, the Mounties confirmed they have been investigating at the very least 70 circumstances of alleged sexual assault on the centre, about 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax. At that point, they established a confidential tip line in a bid to get survivors and witnesses to return ahead.

“I feel we were able to allow survivors to feel safe to contact us,” McCamon stated Wednesday throughout a information convention at RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth, N.S. “I expect and hope that if there are other survivors out there that they do come forward.”

As for why it took police seven years to make an arrest, McCamon stated the case was very delicate and sophisticated.

Investigators have been dispatched throughout Canada to interview 450 survivors and witnesses, they usually reviewed greater than 9,800 paperwork, he stated, including that a few of those that made allegations selected to not proceed with their circumstances.

“When you’re dealing with historical sexual assaults, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” the officer stated. “In an institutional setting like this, there was a lot of written documentation. It takes a lot of time to review that information,not to mention the amount of people who needed to be spoken to.”

Among those that have been interviewed, some have been serving time in some type of establishment, the Mountie stated, including that successful the belief of some survivors was difficult.

“There was difficulty with that at certain points,” he stated. “But once the understanding was there that we were there to listen to what they had to say, it opened those doorways for us. We put a lot of effort into lowering the barriers.”

The Mounties stated Williams has been launched from custody and is scheduled to seem in provincial courtroom in Kentville, N.S., on Sept. 26.

The youth centre opened in 1988. It homes female and male youths serving open or safe custody sentences, in addition to younger folks awaiting a courtroom look. The centre contains 5 cottages, every of which has two, 12-bed items.