WARNING: This story contains details of physical violence against a minor and a photo of his injuries.
A Greater Sudbury family in northern Ontario is navigating the long and uncertain road to recovery and healing after a 14-year-old boy was seriously injured in an attack at a skate park that resulted in charges against two people.
Stephanie Labrosse said her son, Kaleb O’Neil, is recovering from a severe concussion, a broken bone in his cheek, three stitches on his upper lip, a broken arm bone and a nose injury that will require surgery.
Labrosse said he’ll require ongoing medical care and rehabilitation. For his family, the aftermath has extended beyond his physical recovery.
CBC News was given the parent’s permission to publish the boy’s name, which is allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
Labrosse said it was important for her and her son to have the story shared with the public. She said Kaleb is struggling to feel safe in public and won’t return to in-person schooling this fall.
“Right now, we’re just going one day at a time and see what’s next.”
Labrosse said her son had already been dealing with emotional upheaval, including over the death of his father when he was six years old and the death of his grandmother about a year and a half ago.
On the evening of July 31, Labrosse said, Kaleb told her he was going out for a bike ride, as he often did. About 35 minutes later, she received a phone call from a “random number” and heard Kaleb say, “‘Mom, I got jumped.’” Labrosse said she left her house immediately and drove to the home where Kaleb had ended up.
“I saw a girl outside on the deck,” she recounted, “and when I went up the stairs, she took her hands, placed them on my shoulders and she said, ‘Be prepared … it’s really, really bad.’”
Labrosse continued, “He had no shoes, no shirt, his chest was covered in sand and blood. One of his eyes was fully shut, his nose was bleeding, his lip was covered in blood.”
She said her son was taken to hospital by ambulance and he was seen by doctors.
On Aug. 11, Greater Sudbury police arrested and charged 18-year-old Skyler Caron and a 14-year-old with several offences, including aggravated assault and uttering threats to cause death. The 14-year old can’t be named under the YCJA.
CBC News has confirmed with the Sudbury Courthouse that neither of the accused has entered a plea.
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Labrosse said that before the attack, Kaleb was a normal, more aloof teenager. Now, he has been staying closer to her and has not gone out on his own, she said.
She said he’s attending school online because he doesn’t feel comfortable returning to an environment where he could encounter some of the people who were at the skate park that day.
During a recent outing with a family friend, Kaleb became visibly uncomfortable when a group of young people arrived nearby, his mother said.
The friend reassured him that they could leave if he no longer felt safe.
“He said, ‘No, it’s OK, I’m here with you,’” Labrosse recounted, adding it was clear he was on edge, and he was “shaking” and “looking at his surroundings.”
The family has been offered support through Sudbury and Area Victim Services and plans to pursue counselling.
The attack has had an impact on others in the household, Labrosse said.
They include Kaleb’s grandfather, who lives with the family and has sought counselling because he’s struggling to process what happened, Labrosse said.
For Labrosse, returning to work and re-establishing some routine has been one step toward moving forward, though she expects to take time off for his appointments and when he needs additional support at home.
“I’m scared, I’m scared of everybody.” she said. “I don’t trust people.”
However, she said, support from friends, strangers and other families who have experienced similar situations has helped them feel less alone.
“I know there’s bad people because of what happened to my son. But there’s a lot more good people when a situation like that happens.”
Kaleb’s family is focused less on what comes next in the legal process and more on what recovery looks like day by day.
For the family, healing, physically and emotionally, as a household is still underway.
