A 75-year-old former swim instructor is facing more than 60 charges associated with alleged sex crimes involving 30 young people over a 26-year period at a Nova Scotia corrections facility.
The Nova Scotia RCMP have laid 66 charges against Dartmouth resident Donald Douglas Williams following a multi-year investigation into alleged sexual assaults that occurred at the Nova Scotia Youth Centre, also known as Waterville, from 1989 to 2015. Williams was the facility’s swim instructor from the time the facility opened in 1988 to 2017.
Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon said Williams was arrested at his home on Sept. 13.
“Sexual assault investigations are often complex … and even more so when the time frame spans decades,” McCamon said during a Sept. 17 press conference.
McCamon was emotional while discussing the “bravery” of the alleged victims, and applauded them for coming forward.
“It takes courage for those of you victimized to speak with investigators about what they’ve been through, and we know that previous interactions with the police can bring even more trauma to survivors and discourage others from reporting these crimes at all,” he said, pausing at one point to regain his composure.
“Any time you’re dealing with something of this magnitude, there’s always a lot of emotion attached to that. Whenever you speak to survivors or even witnesses of crime, you have to deal with those emotions. It becomes very heavy …. These are tough investigations to work through.”
The charges laid by the RCMP stem from accusations made by 29 boys and one girl who ranged in age from 12 to 18 during their time at the corrections facility. McCamon, the acting officer in charge of the Nova Scotia RCMP’s major crime section, said all of the alleged crimes took place within the centre.
Williams faces a total of 66 charges so far, including three counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm, 28 charges of sexual assault, 32 charges of sexual exploitation, and charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, and assault.
Seven-Year Probe
The RCMP investigation, known as Operation Headwind, first began in 2018.The Mounties announced in July 2023 that investigators were looking into roughly 70 reported cases of sexual assault at the centre, located approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax. A confidential tip line was set up at the time to encourage survivors and witnesses to step forward.
“I feel we were able to allow survivors to feel safe to contact us,” McCamon said during the press conference. “I expect and hope that if there are other survivors out there that they do come forward.”
The sensitivity and complexity of the case is the reason why it took police seven years to make an arrest, McCamon said, noting that investigators were dispatched across Canada to interview 450 survivors and witnesses.
McCamon said police have examined more than 9,800 documents, noting that some of those who made allegations opted not to proceed with their cases.
Police said Williams has been released by the courts on conditions and he’s scheduled to appear in Kentville Provincial Court on Sept. 26.
