Lawyer for Heerema victims angry at Stampede comments
Comments from the Calgary Stampede claiming it was supportive of Philip Heerema’s sex abuse victims have the boys’ lawyer up in arms.
“I am very disappointed that the Stampede has responded to the sentencing of Mr. Heerema by asserting that they provided support to the young victims after Mr. Heerema’s arrest,” Carsten Jensen said in a release.
“We expect the evidence to establish that the Stampede did not provide them with appropriate support and assistance, including the counselling that they needed and that they continue to need.
“A number of our clients have been utterly devastated, and they have ongoing needs for support that have simply not been met. Some of our clients have received no support from the Calgary Stampede Foundation.
“The Stampede’s response avoids taking responsibility for its own failure to protect our clients left in their care, and for the actions of its own senior employee.”
Heerema, 55, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to eight charges relating to six teenagers he abused while working as business administrator for the Stampede’s Young Canadians performance troupe.
Jensen’s firm, JSS Barristers, represents victims of Heerema’s abuse who launched a class-action lawsuit against the Young Canadians and the Calgary Stampede Foundation in April 2017.
The lawsuit, which was amended in January, claims the Young Canadians “failed to adequately supervise Heerema and failed to establish, implement or enforce adequate policies, practises or procedures to protect the Class Members against child sexual abuse or exploitation by staff of the Young Canadians.”
It also alleges the Young Canadians “failed to adequately investigate and act with respect to Heerema’s sexual exploitation and inappropriate conduct.”
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The mother of the teen who first came forward to the police said following his sentencing that members of the Young Canadians “family ” were supportive of Heerema when the charges first arose.
In accepting a joint submission by Crown prosecutor Martha O’Connor and defence lawyer Allan Fay, Justice Larry Ackerl was highly critical of Heerema’s conduct.
Ackerl said Heerema “betrayed the trust” of his victims over a two-decade period, during which he took advantage of his position with the Young Canadians to groom them.
“His calculated conduct was morally despicable and ultimately criminal,” the judge said.
He noted victim-impact statements were filed by three of the boys and the mother of one of them.
“They spoke to the devastating impact these offences had upon them,” Ackerl said.
They included reference to “an aftermath of ongoing mental and physical pain.”
The judge said all of the victims — five of whom testified at Heerema’s trial before he decided to plead guilty and all of whom testified at his preliminary inquiry — showed “eloquence and courage.”
The Calgary Stampede Foundation did not immediately respond to Postmedia’s requests for comment.