‘Everyone’s scared’: Alleged sex offender’s return to school sparks protest
STEPHENVILLE, N.L. — A series of alleged sex assaults. A frightening two-hour police lockdown as Mounties patrolled outside classrooms. And now a student-led protest Wednesday to give voice to at least three girls who faced the prospect of being in school with the boy they say attacked them.
Stress is running high at Stephenville High School, named for the pretty seaside town of 8,000 people in southwestern Newfoundland.
“Everyone’s scared,” said Faith Young, a Grade 12 student who helped organize the day of action in support of the alleged victims. Participants wore symbolic safety pins as a show of strength for those struggling to cope.
Those familiar with the allegations say at least three girls at the Grade 9 to 12 school say the same male student sexually assaulted them in separate incidents offsite.