A former contract employee at a New Westminster, B.C. drug and alcohol recovery centre has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, with 11 alleged victims now having come forward.
Adam Haber, 50, was arrested on Tuesday. The Vancouver man reportedly worked at the Last Door Recovery Centre, while his accusers include former clients of the Westminster House Society.
Some connected on social media, with one speaking to Global News anonymously in February.
“When I relapsed, he reached out and said he was going to help me and like get me groceries. He took me to a bar and got me drunk and it went downhill from there,” the woman said at the time.
“I kind of had already known he was doing some of the stuff he was doing, and I think my judgment wasn’t there because I was using drugs.”
The accuser, whom Global News has called Jane, said the alleged assault took place nearly a decade ago. Jane said the man met his alleged victims at group events that clients from both Last Door and Westminster House attended, and likely felt he was “untouchable.”
The organizations have an unofficial affiliation, with its alumni regularly meeting one another as well, she added.
According to the BC Prosecution Service, Haber’s charges stem from alleged offences that took place between April 1 and June 30, 2012, between July 5, 2012 and July 1, 2013, and on July 27, 2013. There are three alleged complainants.
New Westminster police believe there may be additional victims as well.
“It’s widely known that sexual assault is underreported. It’s an offence that’s difficult to talk about, which is why we’re trying to remove those barriers for victims and survivors to talk to us,” said Sgt. Andrew Leaver in a press conference.
“Every time we speak to a new victim, we’re also learning more about potentially others, other places, other locations or other people our investigators can speak to.”
Leaver said New Westminster police began their investigation into Haber in January — the first time they had heard about allegations against them.
Haber attended New Westminster Provincial Court on Wednesday. He has been released from custody on conditions including no contact with the alleged victims and that he not visit certain locations.
“Mr. Haber’s employment put him in direct contact with people who were in a vulnerable stage in their lives, that definitely gives him access to numerous victims that are going through recovery. That behaviour is alarming,” Leaver added.
In an emailed statement, Last Door said it terminated the services of an independent contractor in January “without notice and without proven cause” within 24 hours of being made aware of serious allegations against him. It does not name Haber in the statement.
“We also terminated any access the individual had to our facilities,” Last Door wrote. “We did not receive any information directly from the complainants and were acting upon allegations made on social media.”
The centre said it reported the information it saw online to police and is unaware of any of its clients who are connected to the allegations. It further said its “hearts go out to the individuals sharing their stories, and urge anyone with information about this matter to contact police.”
Last Door Recovery Centre is not under any investigation, it added, and both safety and transparency within the organization and its services are “paramount.”
Global News reached out to Westminster House for comment, but did not hear back. In a previous emailed statement, it said it never employed Haber, who had also never been associated with its programs in any way.
“WHS has strict policies and procedures to ensure the safety of the women in our care, and we have never had any complaints of misconduct from women in our care in our 42 years of serving women in the community,” it wrote in February.
Jane disputed Westminster House’s claims, stating in February that she told the organization of her experience, as had some of her alumni friends. She further claimed that despite being aware of allegations against Haber, Westminster House continued to suggest graduating clients call him to inquire about renting from his apartment.
Some members of the recovery community in New Westminster have circulated online calls to action directed at both organizations, urging them to strip Haber of his “alumni status” and hire an external human resources firm to audit their policies and procedures related to sexual harassment and misconduct, and implement recommendations.
That letter also calls for mandatory sexual violence awareness and prevention training for staff at both centres, and calls on them to “assume responsibility, reflect on and acknowledge” the victims, and their role in “not taking allegations seriously” when they were presented.
Outside the New Westminster courthouse on Wednesday, whistleblower Sarah Burfoot said she was pleased to see charges laid. According to Burfoot, sexual assault allegations had been known in the recovery community for years, and earlier this year, she decided she had had enough and posted online.
Afterwards, one by one, alleged victims began to share their stories on social media.
“I spoke up about it because I was tired of people in power protecting somebody who has done harm to our community and I wanted to bring this forward so that he could be held accountable and to stop the harm,” Burfoot, who is not a victim herself, told Global News.
“I just want to encourage anyone who’s been affected by him to come forward. There’s a huge community of support and love. We’re ready to embrace anyone who wants to come forward.”
The New Westminster Police Department is asking anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence, or any who has information about offences against vulnerable women, to contact them at 604-529-2430, or email mcucrimetips@nwpolice.org.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, support is available:
- The Department of Justice Victim Services Directory includes a list of support services in your area.
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) Available 24/7 or Text CONNECT 686868
– with files from Emad Agahi, Darrian Matassa-Fung and Rumina Daya