Former group home worker sues Winnipeg over sex abuse allegations

Former Group Home Worker Sues City and Agencies Over Abuse Allegations

A former group home worker is suing the city, several police officers, and two child-welfare agencies. He alleges he sexually abused a teenager in care.

The man seeks $850,000 in damages. He claims the accusations “effectually destroyed his life.”

Details of the Lawsuit

The statement of claim was filed on December 23 in the Court of King’s Bench. It names the City of Winnipeg, two Winnipeg Police Service officers, the Child and Family All Nations Coordinated Response Network, a provincial abuse investigator, and the director of the child protection branch of the Child and Family Services.

In 2017, a teenage victim accused the man of taking them into an office at the group home. He allegedly groped them and tried to undress them before they escaped.

The charges against the man were stayed in February 2020. This was due to “major evidentiary” concerns with the child’s testimony, according to the lawsuit.

Impact of Allegations

The man had worked in group homes and provincial corrections. He lost his ability to find work due to the allegations, the court filing states.

The lawsuit claims that if police and CFS had conducted proper investigations, he would have been exonerated quickly.

“The rampant incompetence prevalent throughout the WPS investigation ultimately led to unnecessary criminal proceedings,” the lawsuit states.

Investigation Failures

The court filing alleges that police investigators did not follow best practices. They failed to gather information from the group home where the alleged abuse occurred.

At one point, one investigator was promoted and left the case incomplete. Another officer became involved, but there were no formal instructions to close the investigation or notes on outstanding matters.

The CFS investigation also had issues. Investigators did not ask the group home for documents to determine who was working on the day of the alleged abuse, according to the lawsuit.

Child Welfare Agency Actions

Despite a lack of evidence, the child welfare agency applied to place the man on the child abuse registry in 2021.

In a July 2025 decision, Court of King’s Bench family division Justice Kaye Dunlop denied the application. She stated that the agencies involved must do more than the “bare minimum” to investigate and scrutinize evidence before proceeding with allegations of child abuse.

“If any of the investigators tasked with investigating the child’s allegations had actually done what they were supposed to do, they would have determined that there was sufficient objective evidence to be found that would have exonerated (the accused) well before he was charged with criminality of a sexual nature,” Dunlop wrote.

Consequences of Investigative Failures

Dunlop noted that the alleged victim was owed a greater duty of care than they received.

The lawsuit claims the damage from the investigative failures is “wholly and absolutely” irreparable.

It also states that when the man sought work, a representative of the All Nations agency advised him that potential employers were told not to hire him due to past court proceedings.

The defendants have yet to respond in court.

Summary of Key Facts