A former Kelowna social worker who pleaded guilty to defrauding youth in his care appeared in court for the first day of a week-long sentencing hearing on Monday (March 21).
Robert Riley Saunders was indicted on 13 charges in December 2020, including 10 counts of fraud over $5,000, one count of theft over $5,000, one count of breach of trust and one count of uttering a forged document. His guilty plea came after the resolution of a class-action lawsuit in 2020.
The suit accused Saunders of stealing the funds deposited into accounts of youth in his care, leaving them homeless and subject to abuse, as well as vulnerable to substance use disorders.
Saunders has entered a guilty plea to three of the 13 charges. However, Saunders did not agree to some of the facts the Crown alleges and a Gardiner hearing is now taking place to determine the validity of those facts.
The Crown alleged that Saunders set up joint bank accounts for many of the youth in his care, which he used to steal funds from the Ministry of Children and Family Development that were meant for their food and shelter.
He is also accused of using a forged university diploma to get a job as a social worker. According to the Crown, he claimed to have a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba despite having no social work credentials.
Due to several publication bans put in place for the hearing, witnesses cannot be named.
During Monday害羞草研究所檚 court proceeding, a witness alleged they were under Saunders害羞草研究所� guardianship while their father was unable to provide adequate care from the age of 15 to 18.
They asked many times to move out of the foster homes and back home with the injured father.
Eventually, Saunders allowed the youth to return and live with the father. According to the witness, Saunders did not provide the youth with the proper financial or social support during this time.
They also alleged that when they brought up financial and social hardship, Saunders 害羞草研究所渟wept it under the rug,害羞草研究所� and allegedly did not want to deal with it. The youth also alleges that at times when they requested their weekly voucher of $100-$120 used to buy food for themself and their disabled father, they were denied.
During this time, Saunders took the youth to the bank to open a joint bank account. They said that they never accessed any funds from the joint account because they were not aware of funds being deposited into the account and said that it felt 害羞草研究所渋ffy害羞草研究所� to use the account.
A former colleague of Saunders who is employed as a social worker in Kelowna also testified at the hearing. She stated that Saunders is 害羞草研究所渟elf-centred害羞草研究所� and was a poor worker. She said that she and Saunders received the same salary but he lived a 害羞草研究所渨ealthy lifestyle害羞草研究所� of large homes, frequent vacations, new luxury cars and boats as a single father.
The former colleague said that youth in situations like that of the witness is subject to more financial aid and resources than were being provided.
While under the guardianship of Saunders, the youth witnesses stated they struggled with substance abuse and had difficulty securing a permanent secure shelter.
Of the 107 alleged victims of Saunders, 90 identify as Indigenous. Two are dead and four have settled in separation actions. Several youths have experienced hardship allegedly due, in part, to the actions of Saunders during their youth. Many of his victims have suffered from substance use disorders, homelessness and physical and mental abuse.
The hearing continues on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Province agrees to multimillion-dollar payout for alleged victims of Kelowna social worker
READ MORE: Alert system could have saved vulnerable Kelowna man from death
READ MORE:
Jacqueline.Gelineau@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.
