How Could You? Hall of Shame-Canada-Lee Bonneau case-Child Death UPDATED and Lawsuit
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Saskatchewan, Canada, unsupervised 6-year-old foster child Lee Bonneau was beaten to death on August 21, 2013 outside a recreation center while his foster mother was inside playing bingo. He had been in state care for only 3 weeks.
“People from across Saskatchewan will be gathering in Regina Friday [August 30, 2013] for Lee Bonneau’s funeral.
Bonneau was the six-year-old boy found fatally beaten on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation last Wednesday. He was last seen alive and well outside of the recreation centre while his foster mother was playing bingo.
News Talk Radio has spoken with several people in different towns Bonneau used to live who have many warm memories of the six-year-old.
“He was a very unique young man,” said Bonneau’s former principal Troy Frick. He says Bonneau would always bring a toy to school to play with.
“He had a stuffed animal he called Foxy—a little stuffed animal he would always carry with him.”
“All the students, older, younger would play with him out on the playground. He was a likeable kind of kid.”
Frick says Bonneau didn’t say a lot but that he always had a smile on his face and seemed happy.
“He was the kind of kid the other kids sort of nurtured and helped along and really seemed to respect and like.”
Bonneau spent his kindergarten year in Vibank. His former school bus driver says Bonneau’s mother would walk him to the bus stop every morning.
At some point, Bonneau was taken into the care of the Ministry of Social Services. He was sent to a foster home on Kahkewistahaw about three weeks before he was killed.
RCMP have not made any arrests in the case. However, they do say there will be a news conference Tuesday afternoon. A RCMP spokesperson says he expects the case will be wrapped up at that time.
The funeral is Friday at 2 p.m..”
Murdered 6-year-old to be laid to rest Friday
[CJME 8/30/13 by Jill Smith]
“The suspect blamed for murdering six-year-old Lee Allan Bonneau is safe from criminal prosecution, being just a child himself — and though the kid in custody is apparently a troubled boy well-known to RCMP on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, there’s no way for police to charge him under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.
“I will confirm that the person responsible for Lee Bonneau’s death is under the age of 12. Any further comment on this tragedy will have to await our media availability,” an RCMP spokesman told reporters Saturday.
That press conference is slated to take place on Tuesday — until then, those closely impacted by the brutal death can only speculate about the fate of a kid who may be Canada’s youngest-ever killer.
“It’s just so sad, and if the rumours are true, and someone that young is responsible, then nothing will happen — there’s nothing they can do,” said Mary Jo Herman, who drove the bus Bonneau rode to school each day while living in Odessa, Sask., a small village about 60 km southeast of Regina.
Bonneau was found on Aug. 21, his head bashed in, shortly after his frantic foster mother reported the boy missing.
He’d only been living on the reserve and with his new foster parents for a few weeks, having suddenly been removed from Odessa, where he lived with his mom.
That night, the boy and his guardian had gone to the Kahkewistahaw sports complex for bingo night, and the foster mom had given Bonneau some money to buy a treat.
But the animal-loving boy, who would have started Grade 2 this week, stopped to play with a dog just outside the hall.
His caregiver watched him play, then took her eyes off Bonneau for a few moments.
Those few moments later, he was gone.
“It’s just so very, very sad — I’d known him since he was in kindergarten and he was just a cute little boy, lots of friends,” said Herman, who went to Bonneau’s funeral on Friday.
Just hours after the funeral, police confirmed a child suspect had been taken into custody by social services.
The underage murder suspect had allegedly killed Bonneau, leaving him for dead near some woods a short distance away.
The panicked foster mom had asked others in the bingo hall to help look for Bonneau: One of those searchers was Bobbi Alexson, who ended up being among the first to find the dying child.
“We dropped what we were doing at the bingo hall, and assisted. Door to door, road to road, building to building. Unfortunately, we were too late to find that poor boy and bring him back safely,” wrote Alexson, on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation Facebook page.
Alexson has since started a petition seeking to establish a community patrol and curfew to improve safety on the reserve, a suggestion the band is taking seriously.
He’s been praised for his candid assessment of social strife on the reserve, which he calls “a terrible home” for kids and adults alike.
“The kids do bad because they have no one to guide them, show them from right and wrong,” wrote Alexson, days before the arrest.
“The kids I see are rude, hateful and terrible.”
Alexson wouldn’t elaborate when contacted by QMI Agency, saying he would await Tuesday’s press conference.
While children under the age of 12 can’t be criminally charged in Canada, those who commit serious offences can be forced into treatment by social services, including psychological counselling.
Whatever happens, Alexson said his petition is still valid, and he wants to see change for his family and others who live there.
“It’s about safety for everyone on the reserve — it’s the same thing over and over again,” said Alexson.
“It has to change.””
Accused killer of boy, 6, too young to be charged
[Toronto Sun 9/1/13 by Michael Platt]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “Saskatchewan’s Advocate for Children and Youth is launching an investigation into the Ministry of Social Services’ policies and procedures after it was determined a six-year-old boy in foster care was killed last week by another boy under the age of 12.
Bob Pringle called last Wednesday’s death of Lee Bonneau on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation “doubly tragic” given the effect it has on both families.
“All children have a right to be safe and protected, and whenever we don’t do that, that’s a sad situation,” Pringle said Tuesday.
The RCMP has determined a boy under the age of 12 is responsible for Bonneau’s death. Because of his age, he will not be held criminally responsible. Pringle said some aspects of his office’s investigation will involve how the ministry provided services that Bonneau and the child responsible for his death were entitled to receive.
The age of the boy responsible for Bonneau’s death wasn’t disclosed, but it was revealed he was known to police and was receiving treatment with the Yorkton Tribal Council.
The boy is in the ministry’s custody in an “out of home” facility with 24-
hour supervision and staff that will assess his situation to determine appropriate treatment, according to a spokesperson with the province.
The location of the facility wasn’t disclosed. The children’s advocate investigation will also look at the circumstances that led social services to remove Bonneau from his biological family.
“When a situation in a child’s home is to the point that the child needs to be removed, in my view, there is a higher onus on the ministry to make sure that child is in a safer situation. So, clearly that has to be looked at pretty seriously,” Pringle said.
“We also have to look at the policies of the ministry. Were they followed? Were they not followed? Did that contribute to something going wrong here?” Pringle said there is no timetable for the investigation or any recommendations to be completed. Bonneau was in foster care in a home on the outskirts of Kahkewistahaw. On the day of his death, he was visiting Kahkewistahaw with his caregiver. The two became separated and witnesses said they saw Bonneau walking with another boy. His body was found outside the First Nation’s Education and Sports Complex with head trauma.
Police determined a weapon was used to kill him.
June Draude, minister of social services, requested the advocate’s investigation on Thursday. The ministry will also conduct its own review of the matter. Draude said other ministries – health and justice – could be part of the investigation.
“We know that there are processes in place that maybe should be looked at,” she said. “See what we have done and what could be done that would be better and what steps can we put in place to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again.””
Child advocate investigating killing
[The Star Phoenix 9/4/13 by Terrence McEachern]
Update 2: “The parents of Lee Allan Bonneau are suing the Saskatchewan government over the killing of their six-year-old son, who died in foster care when he was likely beaten by another troubled child.
The suit was filed in Regina Court of Queen’s Bench on Thursday on behalf of Lee’s parents, David Bonneau and Stacey Merk. “As an entity that has the custody of children, the defendant was at all times under a duty of care to the plaintiffs to act diligently and responsibly to ensure Lee’s well being,” states the claim.
“The emotional trauma (the parents) have suffered by the betrayal at the hands of an entity charged with their protection warrants aggravated damages,” it adds. Lee, apprehended months earlier by Social Services, was found critically injured on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation and died in the back of an ambulance shortly after midnight on Aug. 22, 2013. An inquest this spring ruled his death a homicide.
The boy believed to have been responsible was only 10 years old at the time, too young to face criminal charges. At the inquest, that child was identified only as L.T. under a publication ban.
The inquest heard L.T., struggling with severe mental and behavioural problems, was receiving assistance from the Yorkton Tribal Council
Child and Family Services but hadn’t been apprehended. After Bonneau’s death, L.T. was deemed a child in need of protection and placed in a care facility.
An RCMP investigation concluded L.T. had beaten Lee with a rock and a stick. L.T. had a previous history of disturbing behaviour, including sexually touching other children and killing a pregnant dog, cutting open her belly to also kill her unborn pups.
Lee’s death was also the subject of a report, entitled Two Tragedies, by Advocate for Children and Youth Bob Pringle, who concluded the child welfare system failed both boys.
In May, in response to recommendations by Pringle and the coroner’s jury, Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer said progress had been made in improving the system.
The lawsuit, filed by Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, alleges negligence by the government and seeks an unspecified amount in damages. A statement of claim launches legal action and contains allegations not yet proven in court.
A Justice Ministry spokesperson said Thursday the government was not yet aware of the claim and offered no further comment. Merchant also represents another family from Regina whose young daughter died while under a parental services agreement with social services and has filed other suits related to the foster care system.
Lee was apprehended on June 6, 2013 after a social worker became concerned about his mother’s mental state. On Aug. 21, 2013, while
in his second foster home placement, he accompanied his foster mom to a bingo on the First Nation, about 150 kilometres east of Regina. She gave him some money to buy a treat, and he was last seen outside the hall playing. Moments later, a frantic search for the boy began.
The suit alleges David, concerned for his son, had insisted the boy be transferred during a visit with a social worker on Aug. 7, 2013. It also contends workers “arbitrarily and without sufficient justification” took Lee from his parents and put him in a place where he was at risk, and “disregarded established policies and procedures.” ”
Province sued in death of six-year-old in foster care [The Star Phoenix 8/21/15 by Barb Pacholik]
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