Brother of group home victim has ‘given up’ on justice system after sentencing

Rick Boguski said he has “given up” on the Canadian justice system after a judge handed down a sentence to former Shepherd’s Villa group home worker Brent Gabona on Wednesday.

According to Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli, Judge Bruce Bauer sentenced Gabona to 6.5 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to five sex-related crimes involving several residents at the group home in Hepburn between 1992 and 2009.

“We’re upset. We’re angry,” Boguski said in an interview on Friday, adding that the sentence “really speaks to our broken justice system.”

Morelli, who was seeking a sentence of 15 years, said no prison term will undo the damage Gabona’s crimes left behind.

“There is no sentence that will repair the harms caused to the victims, their families, or the community at large,” Morelli said.

Neither the sentence nor the prosecutor’s comments provided any comfort to Boguski or his brother, 63-year-old Darryl Boguski.

Darryl, the only one of Gabona’s victims who can be identified publicly, lives with intellectual disabilities, autism, epilepsy, blindness and limited ability to communicate verbally.

“I’ve given up on the justice system, because the justice system has failed Darryl miserably,” Rick said.

He said he now believes his only recourse is through a civil lawsuit that was filed a year ago, or possibly a human rights complaint.

“I think that Darryl has a strong case for a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, as well as a complaint to the RCMP,” he said.

Rick said Darryl still suffers the effects of the abuse he endured at the hands of Gabona.

“It’s one of the worst cases that we know of of abuse in a group home in Canada,” he added.

“This has been the result: A 6.5-year sentence for multiple victims that couldn’t speak for themselves.”

Gabona’s sentence began on Wednesday. He won’t get credit for time already served, as he wasn’t in custody prior to his sentencing. He must also submit a sample of his DNA and will remain on the National Sex Offender Registry for 20 years.

Rick said the voices of the victims have been buried.

He also questioned why a previous sex-related conviction in 1992 was not flagged before Gabona began working at the Hepburn group home.

“We have big problems with this case,” Rick said. “We have big problems with this sentence.”