A man who notoriously forged social worker credentials and defrauded Indigenous Youth under his “care” in the Okanagan has been granted full parole.
The Parole Board of Canada approved the next step in the conditional release of Robert Riley Saunders following the completion of his six-month day parole which was granted last October. According to Global News, he’s set to be fully paroled by mid-July.
After being found guilty of misappropriating more than $460,000, Saunders was handed a five-year prison sentence in 2022.
The Parole Board’s June 26 decision notes that to ensure no further harm, Saunders is not allowed to have direct or indirect contact with any child in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), where he acted as a guardianship worker from 2011 to 2018.
As well, he is not allowed to contact any former or current employees at MCFD or organizations associated with child protection services in “British Columbia.” Saunders will also have to ensure his income and expenses are legitimate and he’s not permitted to hold a position of responsibility over finances.
Saunders ‘deeply ashamed’ of his actions: PBC
The decision followed a panel hearing held in April, where the Parole Board noted Saunders’s progress, as well as several issues.
“At your hearing, you spoke about your release plan and the weekly counselling you have received,” the decision says.
The decision goes on to say Saunders felt “financially trapped” and “saw an opportunity” at the time of offending because his marriage was in trouble.
“You said you have not completely come to terms with the harm you caused but added you are deeply ashamed about what you did,” it says.
“You acknowledged that the youth on your caseload should have been able to trust you and that your actions have had long-term impacts in terms of their ability to trust again.”
The board also heard a statement from Indigenous leaders, who emphasized the “profound and long-lasting” harm caused by Saunders.
“The board approved a request from the affected Indigenous community leaders to read a joint prepared statement at the start of your full parole hearing,” it says.
“The chief who spoke emphasized that he and the others he represents are adamantly opposed to you receiving full parole. There is little faith you have changed.”
However, in its decision published last Thursday, it said that following the hearing in April, it has determined the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors relative to a full parole release.
Among the aggravating factors, the board said it considered that victims under the care of Saunders were vulnerable Indigenous youth in foster care and Saunders took their money for his own personal gain.
“You said you will never forget the harm you have caused to the victims,” the decision document states.
“You understand the concerns of the Indigenous community and others. Your high profile is difficult to cope with, but you accept you brought it on yourself.”
As mitigating factors, the board said its decision was based on Saunders showing positive performance on bail over a significant time, the lack of prior convictions, and a low risk of criminally re-offending.
Youth in 'care' struggled
On July 25, 2022, Saunders had been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and forgery.
The court heard that he had been first hired by MCFD in 1996 in Fort St. John, using a forged bachelor of social work degree from the University of Manitoba and that his then-girlfriend assisted in forging the document.
Five years later, Saunders transferred to Kelowna in syilx homelands. While working as a social worker with MCFD’s Indigenous Integrated Family Service and Guardianship, Saunders opened 24 joint bank accounts with youth, whose wellbeing he was supposed to look out for.
For six and a half years, starting in June 2011, he issued more than 850 ministry cheques to the youth, which he deposited in each youth’s account. The cheques totalled more than $460,000. Since the funds were in a joint account, Saunders was then able to transfer the money to his personal bank account. Most of the cheques, which ranged from support payments to startup funds for youth aging out of care, were in amounts of $579.
The judge who heard Saunders’ case convicted him of misappropriating more than $460,000, a breach of trust and using a forged degree to get a job as a social worker with the Ministry of Child and Family Development in BC at the time.
“While he was enjoying the spoils of his scheme, the youth in his care were struggling,” said Justice Steven Wilson in 2022 as he handed Saunders his sentence.
The decision to grant Saunders day parole last October outraged Indigenous leaders and victims who were defrauded by Saunders, with the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) calling for an immediate reversal of the decision.
“The Parole Board acknowledged that the youth suffered as a result of the thefts, but that didn’t seem to factor significantly in its decision,” the FNLC said in a statement on Oct. 13.
A victim of Saunders also spoke to APTN National News about her own experience last October, noting that she was given just $30 a week in cash to get by and that surviving was a struggle.
“The reality is that he ruined so many lives,” the youth told APTN.
“There were kids who never got to see his day in court because they didn’t survive the homelessness and addictions. He directly fed into that by re-traumatizing traumatized Youth.”
IndigiNews reached out to the FNLC for comment about the latest parole decision but did not hear back prior to publication.
Meanwhile, Mia Schewaga, a media relations and outreach advisor with the Correctional Service of Canada, said the service cannot comment on the case as information related to the specifics of an offender’s case would be considered protected.
Schewaga did note that the Parole Board has exclusive authority under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke day and full parole.
