A First Nations teen was raped but ended up being the one in handcuffs when she called police. The revelation came out in an Edmonton youth courtroom last Thursday. Youth worker Mark Cherrington attended the hearing, where the girl said she had been raped at a west-end motel Feb. 17. Cherrington said the girl was bloodied, bruised and swollen, and missing a tooth.
She called her mom, who contacted the police. Officers instead took the rape victim into custody. Cherrington also said a rape kit wasn't performed until three days later. The teen was housed at the Edmonton Remand Centre in a holding cell with two other women and ended up sleeping on the floor. The woman wasn't allowed to shower or bathe, in an effort to preserve evidence.
"It's bizarre. It was a pile of mistakes, first by the police and then the remand centre," Cherrington said. "There's no way, that being five days into this that I should have been the first responder to her sexual assault."
The woman's lawyer is going to file a complaint with police, Cherrington said.
