In September, an extensive police investigation was focused at a home in Trail’s End in Paradise.
On September 6, police arrested 32-year-old teacher and volleyball coach Markus Hicks on charges of sexual assault, accused of setting up fake online profiles to arrange sexual acts. A number of social media handles were identified in connection with the case.
Five days later, 49 new charges would be filed against Hicks, with victims under the age of 16 and 18, dating back to June of 2021.
Charges continued to be laid as victims came forward, many of them under 18. Hicks now faces 92 charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault, sexual assault with choking or strangulation, luring children, arranging to commit sexual offences against children and breach of trust related to his position as a teacher.
Markus Hicks
In total, 14 people have accused Hicks outright of deceiving and duping them into sexual encounters at his home in Paradise.
The case remains before the courts with Hicks still in custody.
Tragedy on the Water
On September 12, a tragedy all-too-familiar to many in Newfoundland and Labrador played out off the coast of Fleur de Lys.
A 23-foot fishing vessel with four men onboard went down 100 metres from shore around 3:00 p.m. that afternoon. The rescue effort for all four men began, with a nearby fishing boat saving one man from the water. The bodies of two of the men were recovered shortly after.
(Photo via Our Town of Fleur De Lys Facebook)
Search and rescue crews began searching for the missing fourth man by ground, sea and sky. The Coast Guard called off the search on September 14, and further search efforts were exhausted two days later.
The remains of the fourth man have yet to be recovered.
The tragedy rocked the community, already reeling from the death of three residents the week prior, according to Fleur de Lys Mayor Bob Traverse
“This on top of it, is really, really, really sad now.”
Rota Resigns
Anthony Rota
On September 22, a member of the Nazi forces in WWII was accidentally honoured in the House of Commons.
Speaker Anthony Rota invited 98-year-old Ukrainian Yaroslav Hunka into the House ahead of the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He received a standing ovation from Parliamentarians when introduced by Rota as having fought against the Soviets in WWII. The Soviet Union fought against the Nazis with Allied Forces during the Second World War.
On September 26, Rota resigned and took full responsibility of the pain caused by the public recognition and stepped down from his position.
Greg Fergus was elected as Speaker of the House on October 3, the first person of colour to hold the position.
