Dozens of community members in Quadeville, Ont., attended a town hall hosted by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Saturday evening, following a vicious attack on an eight-year-old girl that has shaken the small village.
Police said they aimed to address concerns from residents at the meeting, which nearly filled the Quadeville Community Centre. While some people who showed up praised the police approach, others felt they left with questions unanswered.
“We all really want to know exactly what happened,” Tom Bekiaris said after the meeting.
Residents of the village, located about 70 kilometres west of Renfrew, have lived under a cloud of uncertainty for nearly three weeks since the young girl was found in the woods with life-threatening injuries.
OPP initially said they suspected an animal attack, but revealed in a news release Wednesday night they’d charged a 17-year-old male from eastern Ontario with attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon.
Both the accused and the girl cannot be named as their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
At the town hall, people asked about when the accused became a suspect and why police didn’t raise the possibility of human involvement in the attack sooner.
Police warned they were limited in what they could answer due to a publication ban on the youth’s identity and their ongoing investigation.
“There’s going to be a lot of things specific to an investigation that we won’t [answer],” said Derek Needham, acting chief superintendent with OPP. “Hopefully we can answer some questions that are out there.”
At the outset of the meeting, Needham addressed the impact the attack had on the community.
“It’s pretty easy to see that Quadeville, like a lot of small communities, is a community where people know each other, people rely on each other,” he said.
Bekiaris, who lives in the village, said he was surprised about the events that happened in the “tight-knit” community.
“Everybody’s related to each other somehow or around,” Bekiaris said. “It’s almost like how could family do something like that?”
Residents also raised questions about safety. For more than two weeks after the girl was found, police told residents to keep their children indoors or under close supervision.
Like Bekiaris, Ron Boudry left the meeting with more questions.
“To me, it’s just, stuff was being held too tight,” he said.
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said that sentiment was expected.
“We knew there might be some questions that we might not be able to answer going in,” he said.
“But we were hoping that we would be able to at least put aside some misinformation that might be in the community and just let everyone know that we were here, and what was going on, and try to ease some of the concerns.”
During the meeting, Needham said investigators had to keep an “open mind” and could not rule out that an animal attack had caused the girl’s injuries.
When forensic testing revealed no traces of animal DNA in samples of the victim’s wounds, Needham said residents were informed within hours.
Some residents were pleased with the effort police made to keep the community informed.
Jovette Haynes, who’s lived in Quadeville for eight years, said she was satisfied with police’s approach.
“It’s going to take time, right?” Haynes said. “Like they’re saying — they can’t say too much.”
In the absence of more information, Haynes said she thinks about the young girl every day and prays for her every night.
“I’m sure I’m not the only one,” she said.
Toward the end of the meeting, one person asked how police recommend residents interact with the families of both the victim and the accused moving forward.
Needham recommended reaching out and keeping communication open.
“There is a whole lot of healing that’s going to have to take place,” he said. “That healing process has to be as a community.”
