{"id":500883,"date":"2026-02-26T13:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/500883\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:39:10","slug":"in-nova-scotia-town-parents-and-students-rally-behind-those-accusing-hockey-teammates-of-sexual-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/500883\/","title":{"rendered":"In Nova Scotia town, parents and students rally behind those accusing hockey teammates of sexual assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Protesters gather in front of Bible Hill Jr. High School, in Truro, N.S., on Wednesday.Ted Pritchard\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Parents and children in a Nova Scotia<\/a> town rallied outside a local junior high school Wednesday, to stand up for two students who were among three boys on a minor hockey team allegedly sexually assaulted by their teammates. <\/p>\n

Earlier this month RCMP charged<\/a> four boys as part of an investigation into hazing incidents involving an under 15 minor hockey team. The team is based in the Truro area, but draws players from all over the province. <\/p>\n

Court documents released this week show the attacks on three players \u2013 whose identities, along with those of the accused, are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act \u2013 are alleged to have taken place last fall, somewhere in Colchester County, which includes Truro.<\/p>\n

One boy has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, and one count of sexual assault with a weapon \u2013 a mini hockey stick \u2013 for an incident on Oct. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n

A second boy is facing the same charges, but has also been charged with assault with a weapon \u2013 described as urine \u2013 after an attack on one of the three players between Oct. 1, 2025, and Dec. 30. <\/p>\n

Both of these accused were 14 at the time of the alleged incident.<\/p>\n

Opinion: We must expand our understanding of what fear can look like for sexual-assault victims<\/a><\/p>\n

Court documents have not yet been filed on two other boys charged in the case. <\/p>\n

At Bible Hill Junior High in Truro, where two of the complainants and one of the accused attend school, about 100 parents, seniors and students gathered Wednesday to support the complainants. <\/p>\n

Sarah Stewart-Clarke, a mother of a child in Grade 9, said she organized the rally after learning the accused returned to school last Friday after a suspension. (The school has not confirmed the suspension or the return.) As a result, she said the two complainants have stayed home. When she complained to administrators, she said she was advised that their hands are tied. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel that they deserve to be at school and feel safe at their school,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe think they\u2019re heroes for reporting what happened to them, that it\u2019s kept other children in our community safe, and we stand with them every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blair Rhyno, a father of two students at the school, echoed her thoughts with tears in his eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair that the accused is allowed to walk the halls at the school while the victims are at home, too scared to come to school,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the victims have a right to an education.\u201d <\/p>\n

About two dozen teenagers in hoodies and ball caps, some of whom said they were hockey players, gathered on the snowy sidewalk outside the brick school. Some waved to cars that honked as they passed. One older man driving a truck pulled over, lowered his window and clapped in support of the demonstrators. <\/p>\n

Abuse and maltreatment report says Canadian sport has lost its way<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade 8 student Emelia Ryan said she and her friends wanted to help make the complainants feel safe at school, which she said has felt different since the charges were announced Feb. 5. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have been a lot more scared to go around the school and interact with people,\u201d she said, adding that school officials have barred access to some washrooms and locker rooms.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Rodgers, a spokesperson for the school\u2019s administrator, the Chignecto Regional Centre for Education, said in a statement that when the youth criminal justice system is engaged, they work with police to deal with any conditions imposed by the courts. \u201cOtherwise, we are unable to provide any details to protect privacy of those involved,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>\n

Both accused have been ordered by police not to contact three people. They\u2019re also prohibited from entering a public dressing room unless they are with an adult. <\/p>\n

Hockey Canada requires all minor hockey teams implement the \u201cRule of Two\u201d \u2013 two screened and trained adults are to be present in the dressing room or immediately outside with the door propped open to ensure it\u2019s free of maltreatment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the responsibility of coaches and team staff to ensure that no such violent behaviour is taking place in dressing rooms,\u201d the policy says.<\/p>\n

None of the team\u2019s coaches responded to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

RCMP said a boy reported to police on Jan. 30 that he was assaulted during a private team gathering in October, 2025. RCMP investigators gathered multiple statements and learned offences had allegedly occurred at other locations and involved other victims and witnesses. <\/p>\n

Colchester County District RCMP District Commander Staff Sergeant Marc Rose said in a recent statement that he believes there may be other victims. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that coming forward can be difficult,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIf there are others who\u2019ve been harmed, we want them to know they\u2019ll be heard, supported, and treated with respect. They can reach out to us safely and at a pace that feels right for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hockey Nova Scotia executive director Mike Field said when his office learned of the alleged maltreatment on Jan. 30, it was immediately reported to the RCMP, child welfare agencies and to Hockey Canada\u2019s Independent Third Party. The ITP was created in 2022 in response to the case of former world junior hockey team players charged and later acquitted of sexual assault. <\/p>\n

Mr. Field said Hockey Nova Scotia has been working with the RCMP, ITP and Hockey Canada. Meanwhile, he added, the youth team has been suspended. The team name has been scrubbed from the league website. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs this process is ongoing, and in order to protect the privacy of those involved, we are unable to provide further details at this time,\u201d he wrote in a statement to The Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n

Hockey Canada chief of staff Jeremy Knight said he is unable to comment to ensure he does not interfere with the independent process of the ITP investigation. <\/p>\n

The two accused are scheduled to appear in Youth Justice Court in Truro on April 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Protesters gather in front of Bible Hill Jr. High School, in Truro, N.S.,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-500883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-news","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-nunavut","42":"tag-ontario","43":"tag-pei","44":"tag-photos","45":"tag-political-news","46":"tag-political-opinion","47":"tag-politics","48":"tag-politics-news","49":"tag-quebec","50":"tag-sports-news","51":"tag-technology","52":"tag-travel","53":"tag-trudeau","54":"tag-us-news","55":"tag-world-news","56":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}