WATCH ABOVE: A Lethbridge funeral home is being sued after its deceased owner allegedly sexually assaulted a southern Alberta man more than three decades ago. Kimberly Tams reports.
LETHBRIDGE – A man who claims he was sexually assaulted when he worked for a funeral home more than three decades ago is suing the business for $1.5 million.
Documents obtained by Global News name three staff members at Lethbridge’s Martin Brothers Funeral Services in the lawsuit: owner and president Dale Martin Jr., Catherine Leah Martin, and her late husband, Arthur Ernest Martin (also known as Dale Martin Sr.). Catherine Martin is accused of not keeping the complainant safe while he was inside the Martin home.
“It’s very sad to see people coming after my 81-year-old widowed mother,” Martin Jr. told Global News.
Martin Jr. said his company was incorporated in 1996, and that his staff do not have any connection to the alleged assault.
The alleged victim said Martin Sr. assaulted him when he was 12 years old. He said the assaults began in 1981 and continued for four years. The man claims he was assaulted on several occasions, including in Martin Sr.’s home and car.
Dale Martin Sr. was charged in 2013 with assaulting six boys between the ages of six and 15 while they worked for him between 1972 and 1986.
He was scheduled for trial in November, 2015 on six counts of indecent assault under the Criminal Code, and one count of sexual assault. The 83-year-old died earlier this month.
The allegations have not been proven in court. The lawsuit claims the funeral home did not provide the victim with a safe working environment.
Comments