A Toronto private school was sued over a student’s alleged sexual assault. The school’s name was kept secret until now.
There are reasons children’s names are never given in news reports. For starters, it can be potentially dangerous. For another, it can give the public a misleading and potentially inaccurate impression of the people involved in a story.
Still, the case of a 7-year-old student suing the Toronto-area private school the boy attended has been making headlines — until now.
On Monday, the Toronto Star reported that the boy and his family had filed a lawsuit against his alleged rapist, the School of Trinity Hall, accusing the school of failing to notify parents about the incident and keeping the boy’s personal information a secret.
The Star obtained the lawsuit and included it in an ongoing investigation of allegations of sexual assault against former students at Trinity Hall School for boys in Peel Region.
The case is being heard under the civil rights act and is an example of why anonymity should be given to victims of sexual assault, Toronto lawyer Chris Haddad said.
“The allegations against the school are really disturbing,” Haddad told the Star. “To a layman, it may seem that if the names are not released, it can’t be investigated and it allows the wrong people to continue in positions of authority, while the victims aren’t protected.”
Haddad said the anonymity of the public would also allow the alleged perpetrator to be treated differently depending on where the case is heard.
“What I’m finding with my clients is that they are victims everywhere,” Haddad said. “Not just in the Toronto area, but all across the country.”
He said his clients are “victims of rape, sexual assault, violent crime.”
“It’s often the case that when the victims do have to come forward with their information, they can’t come with their own names because they don’t know who they are talking to,” Haddad said. “To be able to tell the truth and not be identified is just the right thing to do.”
The case dates back to August 2016 and the boy
