A Canadian bible camp is under investigation after staff allegedly conducted an exorcism on a child.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other law enforcement agencies are looking into the Redberry Bible Camp near Saskatoon in the Saskatchewan province.
The man who allegedly performed the exorcism outlined a history of addiction to porn and drugs, as well as domestic violence and being let go from a previous camp counsellor position on his Facebook page, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
RCMP confirmed to the CBC that they were looking into “two reports of an incident involving a staff member of the Redberry Bible Camp and a pre-teen boy the evening of July 13, 2022”.
The chair of the board at Redberry Bible Camp, Wayne Dick, told the CBC that they’re also investigating what happened.
“I will tell you that we are investigating the situation ...I’m not prepared to discuss it at this point,” he told the broadcaster earlier in August. “I can assure you [the worker] is not at the camp.”
The worker wasn’t named by the CBC, which reported that its reporters were unable to reach him. An anonymous government official told the broadcaster that the incident occurred in one of the cabins at the campground.
Two witnesses said they saw the child on the floor, with his nose bleeding, body twitching, and making sounds.
While the specific age of the child remains unclear, the camp website states that they hosted events for children aged between 12 and 14 at that time.
The witnesses went to get help and returned with the accused member of staff, who then performed the exorcism as other camp attendants stood by.
The staff member told the children he had removed the demon that he claimed had possessed the child.
The anonymous official told the CBC that the camp staffer then gave each of the children a business card. The official said a government report alleged that the man told the kids that they had to remain in contact with him for as long as they lived because he was the only one able to remove the demon that they had just come in contact with.
A number of the children were afraid and called their parents, who picked them up ahead of schedule and notified law enforcement.
The Saskatchewan Mennonite Brethren, a conservative evangelical group, has operated the camp since 1943.
The CBC asked Mr Dick if other employees were involved in the incident, how the staff member joined the camp, if any medical care was given to the child and if exorcisms are common at the camp.
Mr Dick told the broadcaster that while he has some of that information, he said he “can’t give it to you now”.
The accused staff member’s Facebook page has since been deactivated, CBC reported.
The Independent has reached out to Redberry Bible Camp for comment.
