A Fort St. John woman is calling for stronger protections for residents in long-term care homes across B.C., saying her mother was sexually assaulted last month.

Amber McGill said her 54-year-old mother has late-stage Huntington’s disease, a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects her mom’s ability to move, speak and eat.

McGill said the alleged assault happened Feb. 13 at the Peace Villa care home in Fort St. John and involved another resident. She said police completed a forensic exam the next day.

“It was really traumatic,” McGill said. “She’s helpless.”

In a written statement to CBC News, Northern Health confirmed it was aware of an incident and was “co-operating with the RCMP in their investigation.”

“We take any incidents of violence or aggression in our facilities very seriously, and all incidents are thoroughly reviewed for opportunities to improve safety for residents and staff,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Peace Villa is working with Northern Health community care licensing staff “to ensure all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of residents and staff are in place.”

Fort St. John RCMP say charges have not yet been laid and an investigation is ongoing.

If charges are recommended, the Crown will determine whether a prosecution is in the public interest and if there’s a substantial likelihood of conviction, said Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the B.C. Prosecution Service.

McGill said she expects there will be charges. 

She said navigating the health-care and legal systems in the aftermath has been an emotional process.

While McGill said the accused has been relocated to another facility and her mother to another wing of the care home, she’s concerned her mom is still vulnerable.

She said her mom has been hit by another resident and experienced multiple falls since being moved.

“She’s frustrated, she’s mad,” McGill said. “She feels really unsafe.”

McGill said moving her mom to another facility isn’t feasible.

“For me to put her in there, it was kind of like a sense of relief, really, to have her close by even though I had moved, and be able to still see her and know that she was being cared for,” she said.

“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

McGill wants to raise public awareness to help protect families and those in long-term care who may not have family members to advocate for them.

She said more staff are needed in care homes to improve resident safety.

“Something needs to be done,” McGill said. “They’re in there because they need 24/7 care. They shouldn’t be sitting there for hours at a time by themselves.”

Ultimately, she wants justice for her mother.

“She needs some sort of justice and she needs somebody to be held accountable,” McGill said.

“She needs better care. She needs to be looked after, that’s what she’s there for.”

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