Sexual assault charges laid in foster child case

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Eight people face sexual assault charges in connection with a young girl who was removed from her Alberta foster home against her will and returned to her natural parents on a northern Manitoba reserve.

The teenage girl has been returned to her foster parents, who had cared for her since 1972, after she threatened suicide to end the torment and regular sexual assaults she had been subjected to on the reserve.

The case led to an investigation of Awasis, a Native child care agency, which had pushed for the return of the girl to her natural parents.

A report by the Manitoba Department of Community Services says the agency needs better trained workers and more funding from the federal government to help pay for training.