A provincial court judge in Chilliwack sentenced a man and woman to 10 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault and manslaughter of the fostered First Nation boy and the aggravated assault of his sister, aged eight.
— For months, an Indigenous boy and his little sister were subjected to what a British Columbia judge called"incomprehensible" abuse from the foster parents who were supposed to care for them and instead meted out torture, starvation and assaults that culminated in the boy being beaten to death.
Court documents show the last visit from a worker with the Ministry of Children and Family Development to the Indigenous couple's home took place seven months before the boy was beaten to death in 2021 by the woman, who is related to the children's biological mother. Jennifer Charlesworth, B.C.'s representative for children and youth, said her office is conducting a full investigation into the case, calling it"one of the most egregious situations" she had ever seen in the 46 years she has spent helping children.
"I am heartbroken at what these children endured and I extend our deepest apologies and condolences to the family, friends and communities that have been impacted by this tragedy, including Indigenous Peoples across the province who have experienced and continue to experience the trauma of a broken child-welfare system," she said.She did not comment on the calls for her resignation.Content warning: material that some may find disturbing follows.
Police used a search warrant and found evidence including a 2x4 piece of wood the couple used to beat the children and 16,000 videos with about 400 hours of playing time, depicting months of abuse from 2020 to 2021.He noted the boy's appearance in February 2021 was"particularly shocking," likening it to a child from the Holocaust.
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