Stampede, Heerema victims reach $9.5 million settlements

The Calgary Stampede and a group of people who sued the organization for failing to protect it from a sexual predator have settled for $9.5 million, according to a joint statement from both parties released Tuesday.

The deal is still subject to court approval, and details of items such as distribution still need to be decided, but the court's acceptance of the deal ends a years-long dispute between the Stampede and ex-employee Philip's former members of the Young Canadians Victims of Sexual Assault. Herema.

Herema was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault, sexual exploitation, child pornography and deception.

The convicted sex offender was in court on Jan. 19, where his request for a day's parole was granted and he was allowed to return to a Calgary halfway house by a two-member parole board.

Hirema admitted that between 2005 and 2014 he used his position at the Young Canadians Performing Arts School, run by the Calgary Stampede Foundation, to sexually attract and groom six boys each year. In 1992.

The agreement also spells out a commitment to “additional and enhanced measures and programs,” which the parties say is a preliminary decision after extensive settlement discussions that included the assistance of two courts of the Crown Court.

The statement said that if it is made official, the parties hope it will provide “closure and assistance” to the victims in the healing process.

After the court grants approval, the parties will be available to comment on the details of the settlement, the appeals process and the dissolution process.

– With Canadian Press files