5 students charged in 8th St. Michael’s school incident in Toronto
Posted December 19, 2018 9:44 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO (NEWS 1130) – Five students have been charged with assault, sexual assault with a weapon and gang sexual assault in an incident on Oct. 17 connected to St. Michael’s College School in Toronto.
Four of them have already been implicated in a separate incident on Nov. 19.
In total, police have investigated eight incidents and are proceeding with criminal charges against seven students in three incidents.
Five of the eight incidents that were investigated are now closed and no charges were laid.
RELATED: Toronto police to provide update in St. Michael’s College School case
Toronto police provided an update to the investigation into allegations of assault and sexual assault at St. Michael’s College School on Tuesday morning — the same day six students charged in the case appear in court.
Those six teens face sex assault and assault charges for an incident at the school that was caught on video. The six teens, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were all released on bail after their first appearance in mid-November.
On Nov. 12, St. Michael’s College School administration said it received a video of an alleged assault that took place in a boy’s washroom in the school. The video, which has been viewed by CityNews, shows a teen in his underwear in a sink being splashed with water and slapped on his bare skin by several boys. Later that same night the school received video of a second incident of an alleged group sexual assault in a school locker room involving a broomstick.
WATCH: St. Michael’s principal says school community is “shaken”
The following day, four students were expelled in connection with the first video. The school continued its internal investigation but police were not notified. However, school administration informed faculty and staff of both incidents.
On Nov. 15, police visited the school after CityNews contacted authorities about a possible incident at St. Michael’s College School, unrelated to the assault investigations. It was only when officers arrived at the school that they were told about the video showing the alleged sexual assault involving a broomstick.
Four days later, five boys turned themselves into police. One was arrested while on his way to school. They are all facing charges of assault, gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon.
RELATED: Boy smacked with belt in 1 of 2 new St. Michael’s College videos investigated by police
The next day, Toronto police told CityNews they were investigating two new incidents at the school and there were videos of both.
Amid the scandal, the school’s principal Greg Reeves and board president Jefferson Thompson resigned. The school has been criticized for not promptly reporting the alleged incidents to police.
After the alleged assaults were made public, former students came forward with their stories of bullying at St. Mike’s dating back decades.
