The mother of a young man allegedly abused by Tony Humby says her son was a bright, motivated kid until he got in with the wrong crowd.

The woman said she and her husband adopted the boy as an infant, describing him as laid back and smart, with good grades right up to high school.

He was in Scouts, swimming, and by Grade 10 had risen to the highest rank in Cadets.

Then, at a church camp of all places, he met someone who was into drugs and alcohol, and the downward spiral began.

‘The thing about going to addictions counselling is that you meet other addicts’

His mom said he was open about it all, and ended up between the Hope Valley detox centre in Grand Falls-Windsor, and the Choices for Youth shelter in downtown St. John’s.

But she noted: “The thing about going to addictions counselling is that you meet other addicts.”

The now-23-year-old has testified Humby would pick him up near the Choices shelter, get him drunk and high and, in his words, “rape him” again and again.

His mom said he talked of suicide, citing the bullying he endured as a young Indigenous teen also affected by what she called intergenerational addictions issues with his birth family.

He would text in the middle of the night, she said, saying he was having a hard time and wanted to hurt Humby for “hurting and ruining” him.

“I could not wrap my head around that this happened, and that it had happened to my child.”

Humby is facing a total of 72 charges involving 11 complainants, with separate charges pending for other alleged assaults and human trafficking.

The trial is continuing this week, but will then take a break until September 22nd.