On Thursday, defenders of indigenous children gathered on the steps of theCourthouse in Kelowna, British Columbia, seeking justice from the victims of former Kelowna social workers.
Inside, the court found that the actions ofRobert Triley Sanders changed the future of the children he was supposed to take care of forever. heard.
Sanders embezzled more than $ 460,000 from the government and raised foster children, mostly indigenous.
Read more: White-collar crime: How was it in BC Do social workers embezzle $ 460,000 from the government?
Through a statement about the impact on the victim, the court heard a tragic story about the empty promise that Sanders made to the young man taking care of him.
Some ex-young men in care started by treating them with kindness and compassion, but said he soon turned into negligence and bullying.
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The court heard that Sanders himself had a luxurious lifestyle and robbed the victims of the youth.
Teens didn't know that Sanders had opened a joint bank account, cashed a check in his name, and stole money to lead a better life. ..
Victims said they would always wonder what their lives would have been if they had the support they needed and deserved.
"I was bullied by my social worker," one victim told the court in a written statement.
They also said their confidence in the system that was supposed to protect them was destroyed.
Meanwhile, after the Sanders scam was discovered, social workers who undertook the teenage case help a young man they call a wonderful, beautiful soul when trying to correct Sanders' mistakes. I told the court that I was having a hard time.
They also talked about how the crime of Sanders had a negative impact on the profession of social workers in the community due to the loss of trust.
"We are now painted with the same brush as him," the social worker told the judge, adding that it affected their relationships with their customers.
As people wiped their tears in the gallery, Sanders sometimes appeared to be dozing in the prisoner's box.
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Jennifer Lewis, wellness manager at the Okanagan Nation Alliance, said he had previously worked with Saunders.
Read more:A social worker accused of deceiving a teenager who is caring for a former B.C. pleads guilty. Masu
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"I'm very angry about it," she said. "I remember working with Sanders many years ago when they were doing all this. It's really very hard to hear some of the statements about the victim's impact and his own reaction to them. "I'm worried about it."
"His arrogance and his aggression when those crimes were committed were very realistic and everyone felt," she said. I added.
She said she believed that his attitude was left unchecked. It allowed him to escape fraud.
"The same is true everywhere in the indigenous peoples. They always dismiss our concerns and cause serious harm."
"This is not an isolated incident." This is a systematic case, based on hegemony and racism, and allowed, "Lewis said.
Saunders has previously pleaded guilty to over $ 5,000 in fraud, breach of trust, and the use of counterfeit documents.
At the last hearing, Sanders was not a caring young man, but a government, because teenagers lived primarily in foster parents and did not have the right to receive rental funds. Claimed to have stolen from.
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Read more:'I never be a young man B.C. Social Work scammers testify that prosecutor Heather Magnin is asking Sanders to spend six to eight years in prison. increase. She claimed that the Sanders scam had spread over time, and at some point he said he was bringing three times the ministry's salary.
"The reality that Mr. Sanders chose to target the indigenous children he cares for cannot be divorced from Mr. Sanders' crimes," Magnin said. "This is an important indicator of the overall seriousness of these events."
Saunders claimed to be an opportunity to withdraw the maximum amount of money in each youth's name. did.
The defense is expected to have a discussion on Friday.
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