Nearly four decades after a school psychologist was found guilty of molesting students — which resulted in policy changes in how Manitoba school divisions hire staff — a former student is suing, claiming he was sexually assaulted by the man.
Richard Bruce Thomae used “the position of power granted by the (Beautiful Plains School Division)” to sexually assault the man when he “was young, vulnerable and in need of guidance,” the lawsuit reads.
Tyler Dennis, a Vancouver-based lawyer who is representing the man, said what happened to his client around the ages of 12 to 14 “was absolutely atrocious.
An article in the Free Press in August 1986 documents the provincial education department’s move to check the backgrounds of out-of-province teachers following revelations that convicted sex offender Richard Thomae had been hired as a school psychologist. Thomae was sentenced to four years in prison for sexual abuse of four students. (Free Press archives)
“When it happens, when you’re young, it throws the trajectory of your life out,” Dennis said. “It ruins lives.”
An official with the school division declined to comment as the matter is before the courts.
The statement of claim, filed in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench last week, is seeking general, special aggravated and punitive damages from the school division, as well as past and future cost of health-care services.
The court document says the allegations occurred between 1980 and 1982 when the man was a student at Carberry Collegiate.
It alleges the sexual assaults happened “on a repeated basis, increasing in frequency, nature and intensity as time progressed.”
The claim also alleges Thomae used “the rules, principles and policies” of the school division to continue the abuse.
The school division was negligent and failed to investigate Thomae’s background and character thoroughly before offering him a job, the claim says.
Free Press stories published in 1986 about Thomae’s conviction and sentencing note the school division only checked out his professional credentials and didn’t think it was legal for it to do a criminal record check.
Thomae had been in and out of jail since 1978 for sexually assaulting young boys while working for a British Columbia school board and as a private psychologist in Calgary. He was sentenced in 1981 to two years in jail.
When he got out of jail, Thomae applied to be a school psychologist with the Beautiful Plains School Division and included a reference letter on Calgary Catholic Board of Education letterhead. It was later discovered Thomae had never worked for that board. The two counsellors who wrote the letter said they were “conned” by him.
Thomae was later sentenced to four years in prison for molesting four students in the Beautiful Plains School Division. Dennis said he doesn’t know if his client was one of those four victims or if he is coming forward for the first time.
It is not known where Thomae is now or if he’s still alive.
The story and its aftermath became national news and Manitoba school divisions changed its hiring practices to include police checks. In addition, then-education minister Jerry Storie said the province would probe the backgrounds of all out-of-province teachers and other school professionals seeking to be certified in Manitoba.
The province also introduced mandatory criminal record checks for any new psychologist, clinician or therapist it was considering for work.
The man who is suing claims he suffered damages including physical pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, alcohol and drug addiction and nightmares.
He claims his injuries have left him with a permanent disability, loss of physical, mental and emotional health, and loss of earnings.
He has sought medical treatment and psychological counselling and may need it for the rest of his life, the claim says.
The lawsuit has not been adjudicated in court and no statement of defence has been filed.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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