Yazidi teen says she escaped ISIS in Iraq, only to be sexually assaulted in Winnipeg
19-year-old high school student, she fled to Winnipeg in 2017 to escape the ISIS gunmen who stormed into northern Iraq and forced women and girls into sexual slavery.
She thought she was safe in the Manitoba capital, and then last summer, she allegedly became the victim of sexual assault at the hands of a leader of her own community.
The man accused of repeatedly trying to force himself on her behind closed doors in a darkened room, Hadji Hesso, is the executive director of the Yazidi Association of Manitoba.
Hesso has rubbed shoulders with federal cabinet ministers and MPs, and attended an array of galas. The day after he was charged with sexual assault, he was spotted at the Mayor’s Ball.
“I hope he’s going to stay in jail,” the alleged victim told Global News in a series of exclusive interviews after the Winnipeg Police Service arrested Hesso for a third time on Dec. 2.
After Global News first revealed his arrests, many were shocked that a leader of a Canadian organization that helps Yazidi victims of sexual violence had allegedly preyed upon one of them.
Widely praised for its work, Hesso’s group was an early advocate for victims of ISIS cruelty. In testimony to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, he described the trauma of Yazidis.
“Many of the women and girls who have arrived in Canada have been going through a difficult time,” he said. “It’s severe, and it varies from person to person.” He urged the government to “resettle vulnerable Yazidi women and girls here in Canada.”
Now, he is now accused not only of molesting one of them, but of then allegedly threatening her and breaching bail conditions that required him to have no contact with her.
Meanwhile, Global News has learned that his non-profit group has continued to operate despite having been dissolved by the Manitoba government more than a year ago for failing to file annual reports.
The alleged victim cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban. Hesso’s lawyer, Alex Steigerwald, declined to comment. Hesso has not been convicted and denies the allegations.
But in an interview at her family’s Winnipeg home, the alleged victim told her story of war, displacement and claims of re-victimization in her adopted country.
“I just want to tell the people just be really careful,” she said. “Don’t go outside by yourself and just really focus on your safety.”
Good grief! This is Canada!
There is much more on this story on Global News. Please continue reading at:
Ten years ago the Yazidi ethno-religious minority
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