How a new CBC podcast unravels 5 decades of historical sexual abuse
Reporter Julie Ireton follows survivors as they seek answers
For more than a year, senior reporter Julie Ireton has attended court hearings, requested the lifting of 10 publication bans and appealed for the disclosure of sealed documents.
She built trust with victims, found former teachers and administrators, and conducted more than 110 interviews in a CBC Ottawa investigation that earned her an RTDNA Award and CAJ Award in 2018.
That award-winning investigation led to the production of CBC Ottawa's new original podcast, The Band Played On.
The seven-part investigative series unravels five decades of historical sexual abuse involving dozens of teens preyed upon by three high school teachers. It's an eye-opening #MeToo story at a time when society is listening and understanding in a different way.
With each episode, you get to know the survivors as they seek justice and accountability, moving past years of shame to expose secrets that were never theirs to keep
- Read the original investigation that started it all
- CBC's new investigative podcast, The Band Played On
We asked Ireton some questions about the inspiration for the podcast and the difficult decisions made during the investigation.
Q: Where did the idea for the podcast come from?
Peter Hamer decided he wanted to share his story with me, tell me about his abusive teacher and his decision to go to the police. We met the day before his abuser's court hearing. That first interview lasted a couple of hours. That's when he told me The Gun story. But he also told me there were two other teachers who had abused teen boys and girls at the same school. As I started to dig, more victims started to come to me, wanting to share their stories too. They also wanted answers. They all wanted to know how the abuse continued for so long even after the warnings. As the complicated web of characters and crimes was revealed I realized there was so much more than one story to tell and the best way to tell it was in a podcast.
Q: Since your initial investigation, you have received a lot of emails from other victims of abuse. How did that affect the podcast?
I did hear from hundreds of people from across Canada and abroad — many of them victims of other teachers in other schools. The investigation had struck a chord with people. But I also heard from men and women who had been victims of these same three teachers who had all worked at Bell High School. These people had new stories, but more importantly, they had new evidence that would help fill in all the pieces of the puzzle of the ongoing investigation and the podcast.
Q: You conducted more than 110 interviews over the past year. How did you decide what to keep and what to leave on the cutting room floor?
Some of the interviews were for background, others were to verify information from witnesses or experts, but not for broadcast. In some cases, survivors wanted to talk to me, provide their piece in the history, but they didn't want to make their stories public. But all the interviews with survivors who wanted to be part of the series are in the podcast, all 14 of them. There were definitely scenes, tape and interviews — some that I was really attached to — that just didn't make it into the serial, but the most essential stories are told.
Q: Over the course of the podcast, you have some very personal, powerful and intimate conversations with survivors of sexual abuse. What effect did this investigation have on you as a journalist, but also as a mom to a son about to go into high school?
During interviews with the victims, it was important that I listen, understand and sometimes ask some uncomfortable questions to people who were still in pain. I couldn't let my own emotions get in the way of that job. But afterwards, listening back to the tape, on several occasions tears would wet my own cheeks. So many of the experiences of these victims were difficult, yet so important to hear. I have children myself, a teenager and an almost-teenager. They've been very aware of this project and it has allowed us as a family to talk about boundaries, uncomfortable situations and the importance of communicating with each other.
Q: What can people expect when they listen to this podcast? Why should people listen if they've already read the story online?
The initial investigation published in November 2018 was really a starting-off point that led to the journey this serial takes. Listeners should prepare to be shocked with some of the revealing content, and the complex web that connects teachers and victims. Institutional failure is exposed along with revelations and excuses from former teachers, parents and administrators. Then there are confrontations, courtroom dramas and eventually answers and resolutions.
For more information about The Band Played On, visit cbc.ca/thebandplayedon.
Subscribe to The Band Played On for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
