Former teacher sentenced for sexual assaults

A former Manitoba teacher who sexually assaulted five boys in Manitoba and one in Ontario was sentenced Tuesday to 2 1/2 years in jail.

Ken Mealey had been a teacher and dormitory supervisor at the St. John's Cathedral Boys School in Selkirk between 1983 and 1984. During that time he sexually assaulted five boys between the ages of 13 and 16.

When Mealey was discovered he was fired but a complaint wasn't made to police. He then moved to North Bay, Ontario, where he sexually assaulted another boy from 1984 to 1986.

It as only when one victim came forward that Mealey was caught.

"We were supposed to trust him and he was to give guidance to us and he abused that," says a former student of Mealey's. "He stole part of my life."

The 2 1/2 year sentence was a joint recommendation of the crown and defence. Mealey's lawyer considers it fair.

"It's not going to be easy for him," says lawyer Richard Wolson. "A sentence of that nature is pretty harsh, but he is prepared to do that."

"It makes no sense to me," says Kevin Richardson of the sentence.

Richardson, who was sexually abused as a teenager by someone else, says sentences for sexual abuse are often a slap on the wrist. "It's a tradition in our legal system to make light of the sexual exploitation of children."

Mealey didn't address the court, but said through his lawyer he was sorry for his actions, and offered an apology to his victims.