After a long legal battle, a Quebec Court judge has approved the settlement between Selwyn House and a group of former students, who allege they were sexually abused by teachers at the school, some cases dating back as far as the 1960's.
The settlement means the students, more than 30 of them so far plus other who may have been affected, will receive a total of up to $5M.
Selwyn House has never admitted any wrongdoing or acknowledged that the abuse actually occurred, but agreed nonetheless to settle the case, which centres around allegations against three teachers: James Hill, Leigh Seville, and John Aimers.
Hill and Seville are both dead. John Aimers, the former head of the Monarchist League of Canada, now lives in Toronto.
Alleged Abuse
The first allegation of abuse occurred in 1971 when the father of a student said his son was sexually assaulted by Leigh Seville.
According to a sworn statement, a decade later the mother of another student says she was told not to worry when she brought concerns to administration that Seville may be a pedophile.
In 1991, when another allegation came in, the school confronted Seville. Within days he committed suicide. Parents were told he was depressed due to his father's failing health.
Two years later, the school offered a former student more than $10,000 for therapy and demanded in a letter that he not tell anyone about the payment.
Legal action
Three class action law suits were filed against the school.
The first application for a class action lawsuit against the school was filed in the fall of 2005 with allegations against teacher Leigh Seville. Two additional class action law suits were filed in 2006 by representative plaintiffs.
The school originally drafted a statement in February 2008, but stopped short of admitting any wrong doing.
"We wish to express our apologies and regrets to former students who have presented claims asserting any forms of sexual abuse during their time at the school," the school said in a proposal filed in court.
Other cases
Another Selwyn House teacher faced an unrelated allegation last spring. In May 2008 teacher Richard Doucet was arrested in the United States on charges of solicitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. Doucet has not yet faced trial on these unproven charges and his case is not related to this settlement.
Next step
The school must now post notices of the settlement in newspapers in Canada and the United States. Generally potential victims have, in some cases, 60 days to come forward.
