A message from President McKerlie

Today, Hamilton Police Services announced that they have charged a former Mohawk College Summer Camp counsellor with sexual assault and sexual interference. The charges are related to an incident at a Mohawk College Summer Camp in 2017.

The accused person was employed as a camp counsellor in 2017 and has not worked as a camp counsellor at Mohawk College Summer Camps since then.

Information was brought forward to Mohawk College staff recently and Hamilton Police Services was contacted immediately. An investigation commenced and is ongoing.

Mohawk College is working closely with Hamilton Police Services as the investigation continues.

The care of our campers and everyone in our Mohawk College community is our highest priority. This is upsetting news because we take our responsibility for caring for our community seriously. Mohawk College follows sector safety practices throughout each day at camp. Counsellors are screened before hiring, including a police vulnerable sector check, and undergo four days of specific camp training. Mohawk College also has policies in place to respond to all reports of misconduct or assault.

We know that this news may be upsetting for many people.  There are supports available to anyone who has experienced or been impacted by sexualized violence or misconduct.  Please find a link to that information here.

This is an active investigation and we are not able to share specific details about the case. If you have questions, please contact us at questions@mohawkcollege.ca.

Hamilton Police believe that there may be more victims and encourage anyone with information to come forward.

We are asking anyone who may have any information that could assist investigators to contact Detective Hashimoto at 905-546-4823.

Thank you,

Ron McKerlie, 

President & CEO