Trial begins for Sask. group home worker charged with assaulting residents

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A woman is on trial this week, accused of abusing residents at the group home where she worked in Wilkie, Sask.

Jaclyn Elias, 38, was fired from the Prairie Branches group home after the allegations arose two years ago in the small community about 50 kilometres southwest of North Battleford.

She is charged with assault, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon and uttering threats over a roughly one-year period leading up to Feb. 28, 2024.

The incidents allegedly involved four residents of the group home, which houses adults with intellectual disabilities. They all use wheelchairs and are non-verbal.

Her trial in North Battleford provincial court began on Monday. The identities of the complainants are subject to a publication ban.

One of the first witnesses was Lisa Knuff, who worked alongside Elias and ultimately made a report to management, which contacted the RCMP.

Knuff said the two of them would work the day shift at the group home and provide care to the six residents, including using a lift to get them out of bed, dressing them, bathing them, feeding them and otherwise caring for them.

Knuff said she saw Elias repeatedly rub her breasts in residents' faces and make sexual comments such as, "You like that, don't you?" and referring to them as perverts.

On one occasion, she said she saw Elias use a stick to poke at the groin area of a male resident. She described the stick as being a plastic tool that was part of the lift apparatus.

With another resident who constantly drooled, Knuff said she saw Elias stuff a washcloth into their mouth to stop the drool.

What she saw made her feel "horrible," Knuff testified under questioning by Crown prosecutor Danielle Elder.

"I wouldn't talk to nobody about it," Knuff said. "I was afraid … felt pretty alone."

She said she didn't come forward right away because she thought she was the only one who had seen the incidents, and was worried about overreacting. But when another co-worker came to her with concerns, she wanted to report what she had seen "because it was very wrong," Knuff said.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Meagan Ward challenged Knuff and asked her if she and the co-worker made their reports because they wanted to see Elias get fired.

"That's totally incorrect," Knuff replied.

Ward also asked Knuff if the resident she saw getting poked in the groin could feel anything.

Knuff said she didn't know what he would be able to feel through an adult diaper and lining, and that while he was yelling when it happened, she couldn't say what he was yelling about.

The trial, which is being heard by Judge Ian Mokuruk, is scheduled for three days.

If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database. ​​

Reporter/Editor

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