Prestigious all-boys school in Toronto named in suit alleging sexual assault

Upper Canada College (UCC) is now publicly named as the school at the centre of a suit in which a student alleges his peers sexually assaulted him.

Earlier this month, Ontario’s Court of Appeal partially overturned a rare publication ban that had blocked the name of the elite all-boys private school from being made public in the suit.

If it hadn’t been over-ruled, “the decision that they could remain anonymous and operate, really move through this litigation without anyone knowing anything about it, I think, was directly contradictory to the open court principle and would have been a very dangerous step,” says Broghan Masters, the lawyer for the plaintiff.

The parties agreed the publication ban should be kept in place for students’ names and other information that could indirectly identify the minors.

It’s the latest ruling in an ongoing and multi-layered sexual assault lawsuit filed by a former student and his parents in January 2020. In the civil suit, the student alleges that two classmates sexually assaulted him during a school-organized trip to Norval, an outdoor education centre in Halton Hills associated with UCC.

“The minor plaintiff was sexually assaulted by the two minor defendants, in a cabin with a broomstick,” alleges Masters. “He told the teacher who was there. We say the school did absolutely nothing about it.”

Among other things, the family claims negligence and breach of duty in the suit and asks for $5 million in compensation. The two students who allegedly attacked the youth are also named as defendants.

Upper Canada College denies the allegations, and none of the claims have been proven in court. The publication ban still covers their names and the date the assault happened.

In a statement to CityNews, Upper Canada College alleges that the youth didn’t tell school officials about the incident until later, when he faced disciplinary action on another matter.

At that point, the youth was being disciplined after being part of a group of students who had shared inappropriate content online. The school says the content that sparked its investigation included posts about school shootings.

The family alleges that three school staff engaged in misconduct in handling the so-called “website incident.” The youth claims he was detained while forced to confess.

The court documents indicate that the youth withdrew from the school in anticipation of being expelled. 

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“The plaintiff’s family communicated to UCC that in exchange for allowing the plaintiff to remain a student at the College, they would not publicize the assault allegation,” the school alleges.

Masters says her client denies UCC’s version of events, stressing that the boy tried to report the incident right after it allegedly happened but eventually gave up when nothing was done.

Upper Canada College is now being publicly named as the school at the centre of a suit in which a student alleges his peers sexually assaulted him.

“The school has publicly apologized on more than one occasion for incidents of sexual assault, which went unreported or uninvestigated,” noted Masters.

“It’s an issue that isn’t just about particular actors at particular points in time. It’s a culture. It’s a culture of hazing, harassment, and bullying, particularly at an all-boys school, that is normalized. And if you do try to speak out or do anything about it, your situation gets far worse. That’s what happened to the minor plaintiff.”

The school says it is “committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for everyone in our community,” adding that “harassment, abuse or intimidation in any form will not be tolerated.”

It adds any reported incidents are thoroughly investigated and acted upon.

In this situation, Upper Canada College says that as soon as the family told them of the sexual assault allegations, it paused discipline on the website incident and contacted authorities. It adds that none of the students or staff involved still attend or work at the school.

“At all times, UCC has acted in support of our students while following the guidance of authorities,” the school said in its statement.

“In support of the students involved, and in addition to the Toronto Police, Halton Regional Police, and the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, UCC also investigated the allegations to the fullest extent possible.”

The school also alleges that the youth’s family refused to participate in the investigation unless UCC guaranteed a favourable outcome in the disciplinary process for the website incident. 

Masters says the family declined to participate in the investigations out of concern for its impact on the minor and distrust in the school’s involvement. Instead, they opted for the civil route, which they feel offers more protection.

“The parents said, I’m not putting my son through the criminal process. He’s just a boy.”