Province quiet about foster home where kids charged after sex game

14-year-old girl sentenced Monday for sexual assault involving 18-year-old foster brother and 12-year-old girl

The B.C. government is refusing to say if children are still under the care of two Oliver foster parents whose home was used for a sexualized game of truth or dare involving a 12-year-old girl.

“Although we can’t speak to specifics of the case, by policy in any situation where a child in care may have harmed another child in a foster home a number of steps must be taken,” the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

Those steps include having social workers “conduct a thorough assessment of the circumstances, including an assessment of the care or supervision provided by the foster parent and a determination of whether counselling or therapy is required for the children or youth.”

Social workers also review the “suitability of the placement arrangements . . . and may take steps to move children,” and report the incident to police and the provincial director of child welfare.

At least one of the two foster children involved in the game was later moved to a different home, a Penticton judge heard Monday before he sentenced her to 15 months’ probation on a single count of sexual assault.

None of the parties involved in the incident can be identified due to publication bans under both the Criminal Code and Youth Criminal Justice Act.

According to an agreed statement of facts submitted during the sentencing hearing, the game took place in the basement of the foster home in 2014 while the parents were upstairs.

The offender, who was 14 at the time, suggested her then-12-year-old friend play truth or dare with her foster brother, who was 18.

The dares progressed from kissing and lap dances to oral sex and anal intercourse, with each activity directed by the offender, who used an application on her cellphone to come up with ideas.

The incident came to light when the victim disclosed it to her parents the next day.

The offender’s former foster brother is still awaiting trial on three sex offences as a result of the incident.

A spokesman for the B.C. Representative of Children and Youth said Tuesday the watchdog agency is aware of the matter, but an investigation — if one is ordered — wouldn’t occur until after the conclusion of the court process.