New BrunswickKenneth Estabrooks, a former police officer and city employee, was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault in 1999. A much-larger group of alleged victims has been seeking compensation from the city for sexual abuses committed by Estabrooks.Lawsuit alleges former Saint John police officer sexually abused minors for decadesMark Leger · CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2025 2:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoKenneth Estabrooks was found guilty in 1999 of four counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to six years in prison, where he died in 2005. (CBC)If a proposed settlement is approved by the court, the victims of convicted sex offender Kenneth Estabrooks will get “some measure of accountability and justice” for what he put them through decades ago, their lawyer says.In a court hearing this week in Saint John, John McKiggan, the lawyer for members of a class-action suit launched in 2013, said they had reached a proposed settlement agreement with the lawyer for the City of Saint John.The class members, including representative plaintiff Bobby Hayes, are seeking damages from the city as the employer of Estabrooks. Estabrooks worked as a police officer from 1953 to 1975 before he was transferred to the city works department after he admitted to sexual relationships with two teenage boys. He was eventually charged criminally, and in 1999 he was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to six years in prison, where he died in 2005. In the civil suit, a much-larger group of alleged victims has been seeking compensation for crimes they say he committed against them.“The proposed settlement that we are asking the court to approve involves both a global financial settlement … a fixed sum of money to resolve these claims, as well as an expedited and private compensation process for the class members to apply to receive the compensation,” McKiggan said in an interview.McKiggan said they are not disclosing the details of the proposed settlement at this time.Victims want accountabilityHe said the victims are hopeful the settlement in this decades-long case will be approved by Justice Darrell Stephenson.“The earliest claims, of course, stem from when Estabrooks was hired as a police officer back in 1953, so we’re talking about sexual abuse allegations stemming back many, many decades,” he said.“But the claim itself, the class action itself, has lasted for over a decade, so I think Bobby and the class members are relieved that if this proposed settlement is approved, they will finally have the opportunity to get some measure of accountability and justice for what they went through as children.”The case has already been to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, which refused to hear the city’s appeal last year.That meant the 2023 decision of the Court of Appeal would stand — that the City of Saint John is vicariously liable for the sexual abuse committed by Estabrooks while he was a police officer.The court established an individual assessment and compensation program, McKiggan said, but it would involve people making claims and holding hearings, a process that could take several years to resolve and cost the city “tens of millions of dollars.”McKiggan said this settlement would save time, money and spare victims from having to testify in open court.“It will take years to move through that process and it will be very expensive,” McKiggan said. “And it does entail court hearings, so there’s the prospect of having to testify in public about what happened.”John McKiggan, lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Estabrooks case, says the proposed settlement would save time and money. (Graham Thompson/CBC)At a court hearing earlier this year, McKiggan said the youngest plaintiffs are in their 60s and the oldest in their 90s. All of them were minors at the time.McKiggan also said the exact number of plaintiffs isn’t certain. His office has been contacted by 90 people, and out of those he’s been able to reach, “every one of them wanted to proceed.”CBC News asked the city and its lawyer, Michael Brenton, for comment.In a statement, the city acknowledged the tentative settlement. “The proposed agreement has been recommended by the mediator, a former justice of the Ontario Superior Court, and agreed upon by both class counsel and defence counsel.”The city would offer no further comment with the matter still before the court.McKiggan said an approval hearing has been requested for early 2026.ABOUT THE AUTHORMark Leger is a reporter and producer based in Saint John. Send him story ideas to: mark.leger@cbc.ca
Lawyers for Saint John, victims propose settlement in Estabrooks lawsuit
