Update on Steven Burrows’ assault case in Ontario

I did a report in June 2023 that Steven Burrows, a former Deaf worker at the Ontario Camp for the Deaf, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a female victim based on an alleged incident in 2003.

He was arrested by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). See this clip from 2023.

[Clip] OPP: “In February of 2023, the West Parry Sound OPP began an investigation into a historical sexual assault which occurred in 2003… This investigation was initiated at the request of the victim, who worked at the camp in 2003.

Now, an update. CTV News reported last week that Burrows pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of simple assault and avoided a scheduled trial.

CTV said Burrows was found not guilty of sexual assault and as a part of his guilty plea to assault, he was granted a conditional discharge along with probation for 18 months for “non-consensual touching of the girl’s arm at the Ontario Camp of the Deaf.”

Prosecutors said important evidence such as interviews, statements and the woman’s diary collected 22 years ago had been lost.

CTV said a woman read her victim impact statement in court and said, “You had groomed me while in a position of trust and power” and said “I’m no longer the vulnerable girl you exploited.”

The judge said she couldn’t consider certain statements made by the woman because they didn’t relate to the offense for which Burrows pleaded guilty. However, the judge ordered Burrows to not communicate with or be within 500 meters of the complainant or witness in the case.

Burrows’ attorney told CTV News that the complainant made “unproven allegations.”

I reached out to Burrows on social media for comment but did not get a response.

I reached out to a representative of survivor/s who issued a statement that I will share while keeping their anonymity.

They said “It’s important to note that while the charges were reduced, this does not mean that Burrows did not sexually abuse the survivor. The reduction was due to the loss of critical evidence.”

They said, “It is difficult to accept how easily Burrows seems to have avoided consequences for his actions, thanks to a broken justice system where abusers often have more rights than survivors.”

I’ve included links to news stories in the transcript.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/barrie/article/toronto-man-pleads-guilty-to-assault-at-ontario-camp-of-the-deaf-in-historical-sex-assault-case/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=6224891070930712

https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/ontario-man-charged-with-sexual-assault-and-exploitation