The mother of a child who was allegedly assaulted by two youths in Calmar in October spoke to CTV News about how the incident affected her young son.
"It keeps me awake at night, I think about what happened, could I have done something different?
"You blame yourself too."
The distraught mother, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, is still dealing with the fallout of what happened to her young son on October 30.
Witnesses said the boy ran to a Calmar gas station for help, and was bruised and bleeding.
RCMP officers and emergency crews responded to the 911 call at 1 a.m. at the station – and the boy was rushed to the Stollery Children's Hospital for treatment.
"It broke my heart, I [saw] him sitting there, his face was all bruised and [there were] burn marks on his cheek."
RCMP have not made many details of the case public, only that it happened in Calmar, and on Thursday the serious charges laid against the two youths in the case were released.
The youths are facing several charges, including assault causing bodily harm, sexual assault, forcible confinement and administering a noxious substance.
The mother told CTV News the people responsible for the crime lured the child to an apartment, and made him drink alcohol, before burning, punching, and cutting him repeatedly, and sexually abusing him.
She said her son has not spoken at length about the experience.
"He's talked in bits and pieces of it, but he's pretty ashamed of the sexual abuse part. He doesn't talk about that."
Whatever happens, she said the family has no choice but to leave – in order to protect the boy.
"We protect our kids from all the monsters in the world out there, but sometimes the monsters are in your backyard, in your school yard, and they're in your neighbourhoods."
With files from Scott Roberts
