Boy ‘needed more than we could give him’: official

REGINA – An RCMP investigator says a 10-year-old boy who killed a younger child on a southern Saskatchewan reserve had a troubled childhood that included 28 interactions with police.

Cpl. Donna Zawislak testified Monday at a coroner’s inquest into the death of six-year-old Lee Bonneau, who was found with head injuries in a wooded area on the Kahkewistahaw reserve in 2013.

He was last seen walking with an older boy outside the reserve’s recreation complex while his foster mother was playing bingo.

Zawislak told the inquest that the 10-year-old was the subject of complaints including inappropriate sexual behaviour, animal cruelty and break and enters.

“(He) was touching people inappropriately on the school bus. He was dropping his pants.”

He also witnessed a theft and a “gruesome” aggravated assault in which a man kicked another man in the face with steel-toed boots, she said.

Saskatchewan’s children’s advocate determined the boy, whose name is under a publication ban, had behavioural issues and probably shouldn’t have been in the community unsupervised.

He could not be charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was under 12.

Zawislak testified last week that the boy didn’t react when he learned his actions had been fatal. She has said he knew the location of Lee’s injuries and identified weapons including a stick and a rock that were used in the beating. She added that there was a human bite mark on Lee’s forearm.

A medical expert said Lee’s injuries were similar to those seen in high-speed car crashes or a 10-metre fall.

On Monday, Zawislak outlined the 10-year-old boy’s history with the police and said his first interaction happened when he was three. His father assaulted his mother who ended up in hospital, she said.

Mounties also believe the boy was involved in a break and enter in May 2011 where a pregnant dog and her unborn pups were killed. Zawislak said a baseball bat and golf club were found near the dead dogs and there was blood throughout the house.

She added that authorities worried the boy was “falling through the cracks.”

Zawislak testified that the boy’s father was convicted of assaulting him and told police he slapped the child in August 2012.

Jean Taypotat, vice-principal at the Chief Kahkewistahaw Community School, said the boy had been suspended from school for weeks at a time.

“His behaviours were just too aggressive for the safety of all the other children,” she said.

She added that for a few months in early 2013 the boy’s behaviour improved when he was being medicated with Ritalin to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“He seemed to be able to focus more in the classroom,” she said.

But his parents stopped administering the drug and described him as being lethargic, she said.

Sheri Woods, the lawyer representing the 10-year-old boy, asked Taypotat about the boy’s relationships with other students.

“Did he have any close friends that you were aware of?” Woods asked.

“No,” Taypotat responded, adding that other children generally excluded him.

Woods asked if an earlier diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and an assessment for fetal alcohol syndrome could have made a difference in his behaviour.

Taypotat said it may have led to better support services.

She stressed the need for better communication between agencies involved in child protection.

“I think he needed more than we could give him,” she said, crying.

In a report released last year, children’s advocate Bob Pringle said the boy didn’t receive the help he needed.

He said his investigation found nine child protection concerns reported to the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services, but as far as his office could determine, two concerns were never investigated. Other investigations were delayed by months.