Uncover - Introducing: The Band Played On

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

Investigative reporter Julie Ireton unravels a complicated web of five decades of historical sexual abuse involving dozens of teens. They were preyed upon by three teachers who worked at the same school. Warnings were ignored and abuse continued. The Band Played On. Follow the journey as survivors seek justice and accountability, moving past years of shame to expose secrets that aren't theirs to keep. Listener discretion is advised.

This is a CBC Podcast. Was it my fault? Did I seduce him? Did I make him do this? He had a room that locked. He had a room where he could see out. And a room where no one could see in. And now all of a sudden, here's this guy who's gone, hey kid, you're special. High school. A safe, nurturing place for kids, where you learn to be an adult. Encounters experienced here stick with you for the rest of your life. I can tell you how he had his hair, the glasses he was wearing, his sandal colour,

and I can tell you the white trim on his blue shorts. I remember that day vividly. Boy, they sure never mentioned what was going on in the basketball room, and I didn't mention what was going on in the music room. Three successful popular teachers who worked at the same school sexually abused dozens of students over the course of five decades.

I loved the band so much, I didn't want to do anything that would threaten that. And he said, if you would let me take pictures of you naked, you don't have to play. You'll get a good mark. I thought, I'm in my teacher's bed, and I'm lying here, and this is not where I'm supposed to be. In some cases, people knew and reported suspicions as far back as the 1970s. suspicions as far back as the 1970s.

So I said, I don't care. The men have to go. And if you don't do anything about it, I'm going to go further. He said, leave it with me. I will investigate. I will get to it. He promised me. They knew. And I knew. They knew. I told teachers, too. After decades of secrets, victims want answers. He left because of something, something that nobody knew and we still don't know. We have our own little mini Catholic church thing going on here. They were protecting these guys. Every once in a while, this little thing in the back of your brain when you hear some other story, somebody you don't know, so there's no connection. Well, of course, it's got to come to the surface. It has to. The band played on. I'm Julie Ireton, host of a new CBC investigative podcast coming May 31st.

Get it free on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. So I went downstairs. I got my dad's 12-gauge shotgun. He was sitting on the couch and I pointed the gun at his head.