Dovercourt rec association says it's co-operating with police, Children's Aid in sexual assault investigation

Published Jan 27, 2024 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 1 minute read

The Ottawa Police Service announced sexual assault and other charges against a former summer camp counsellor on Thursday. Photo by Wayne Cuddington /POSTMEDIA

The Dovercourt Recreation Association says it is fully co-operating with the Ottawa Police Service and the Children’s Aid Society after former inclusion counsellor Ghadeer El-Haddad was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and assault on Thursday.

“The safety and well-being of children and youth are our utmost priorities and this is a responsibility we take very seriously,” Sureen Gosal, Dovercourt’s executive director, said in a release posted Friday on the recreation association’s website. “Our inclusion and accessibility programs are an important pillar of what we do.”

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The statement, which contained a link to an Ottawa Police Service release about the charges, said no further comments could be made because the case was before the courts.

The charges were laid following an investigation by the Ottawa Police Service’s sexual assault and child abuse unit into alleged sexual assaults during a 2023 summer camp program. The case involved a girl under the age of 12.

El-Haddad, 24, worked as an inclusion counsellor with children with special needs.

The news release by the police service said investigators believed there could be more victims.

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