SASKATOON – Sentencing for a Waldheim man charged with sexually abusing disabled residents at Shepherd’s Villa in Hepburn didn’t proceed Wednesday in Rosthern Circuit Court and has been postponed until January 2024.
Brent James Gabona, 53, had pleaded guilty in March to three counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability. The Crown prosecutor withdrew two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.
The family of one of the victims travelled from Alberta to Rosthern for the sentencing hearing, which had been set in March for Oct. 11, and were disappointed Gabona wasn’t sentenced. Gabona remains out of custody. Rick Boguski is fighting for justice for his brother Darryl Boguski – who is blind, has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and is autistic – and was victimized by Gabona. He had applied to the court last year to have the ban on publishing Darryl Boguski’s name lifted and in June 2022, a Saskatoon judge lifted the ban.
“It’s a slap in the face to Darryl, the other victims and vulnerable people everywhere,” Rick Boguski told SASKTODAY.ca Wednesday about the delay in sentencing and that Gabona is still a free man. “Where is the justice?”
The Crown is seeking a 15-year sentence for Gabona, and in March Rick Boguski told SASKTODAY.ca “We cannot rest until he’s behind bars.”
Gabona was arrested on May 10, 2022, and charged with five counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.
Rosthern RCMP say that on April 19, 2022, they got a report of sexual assaults that occurred at a care facility in Hepburn. Their investigation determined that between 1992 and 2009, five adult residents of the facility were sexually assaulted by a male staff member.
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