Sask. family dealing with hockey coach’s abuse finds support

But, according to some reports, it turns out that Chamberlin had a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy in B.C. in 1998.

In light of that, the mother of one of the victims told The Southwest Booster she didn’t know why Chamberlin was allowed to coach. She said Chamberlin positioned himself as the perfect volunteer.

“As a parent, I feel lied to and very naive for trusting someone like him. Pedophiles groom kids and manipulate families. Ryan Chamberlin began to groom our family,” the mother of the victim told the newspaper.

She now wants to see more criminal record checks and increased vigilance for those who work with children.

The mother said she told her kids the story of Sheldon Kennedy and Graham James to warn them that some people in positions of trust may not turn out to be who they say. The mother told the paper that the story of Kennedy is what gave her son the strength to come forward.

Shortly after the boy went to the police, Kennedy called the family.

Kennedy came forward about his abuse at the hands of James and has since opened the Sheldon Kennedy Childhood Advocacy Centre in Calgary two years ago. The centre does child abuse investigations in Calgary, and Kennedy said they’ve done 2,700 investigations in the past 21 months.

Kennedy said he made the call because he wanted to support the boy and his family.

“Sometimes when kids and families are going through sexual assaults, not only as a young victim, but as a family, you feel that you’re all alone. And I think that it’s important for them to know that they’re not alone, and that they’re not the only ones that this happens (to).”

Kennedy said in the majority of child-abuse cases, the perpetrator is a person the family knows and trusts – and that can cause a lot of confusion.

“These issues carry a lot of fear and a lot of people go the other direction. Instead of wrapping around the child and believing the victim in a lot of these cases, they go the other way and are scared to reach out and then to help. And so I wanted to be the person who reached out.”

The story of Chamberlin and his victims is similar to Kennedy’s. But Kennedy said many of the stories he hears are “way too similar.” It means he knows what they’re dealing with.

“I could totally relate. I could relate to the pain that this young fella was in, and the confusion. And I just really wanted to tell him that he wasn’t alone and that I understand, and the way that he was probably feeling, and the craziness that was probably going on in his head, was normal.”

Kennedy said he wants to help stop the negative effects that trauma like this can have, and reach as many kids as he can.

In calling the victim, Kennedy said he wanted to let him know that he can get through it.

“I hope that the message that I can carry is hope. And I hope that people see that there’s a way out.”

Kennedy also said he’s proud of the victims and their families.

“It takes a lot of courage to come forward. That’s what I told both of them, ‘You know what? I’m proud of you.’ And they’ll get through it, and ‘we’ll help you,’ and ‘you’re not alone’.”

The mother of the victim told The Southwest Booster that Kennedy’s outreach has been a blessing for the family.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow

by Lisa Schick

Sask. family dealing with hockey coach’s abuse finds support

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