Edmonton employer who assaulted teen accuses family of attempted extortion
An Edmonton employer convicted of assaulting a 17-year-old boy last year at a remote worksite is accusing the victim and his parents of attempted extortion and forcing him into a false confession.
In recently filed court documents, Kamaljit Bhalla denies assaulting the teen and uttering threats against him, though he pleaded guilty to the criminal offences earlier this year.
Bhalla is seeking $500,000 in damages in a counter lawsuit, filed in response to a civil claim launched by the teen following the criminal trial.
CBC News is not revealing the identity of the teen, or his younger friend, who Bhalla was also convicted of assaulting, because they were minors at the time.
In a statement of defence and counterclaim filed on Nov. 23, Bhalla accuses the 17-year-old and his parents of scheming to bring about "false criminal charges" to extort money from him.
Threatened with physical harm
He says they made a "false complaint" of physical and sexual assault to Valleyview RCMP in April 2017.
Bhalla was "induced to enter a guilty plea" after someone acting on behalf of the family threatened to physically harm him, the court documents state.
But in a plea deal reached on Feb. 8, Bhalla admitted to abusing the teens over a three-day period at a remote worksite in Valleyview, 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. He was sentenced to 15 months of house arrest and banned from hiring minors.
In September, the older teen filed a lawsuit against Bhalla seeking $500,000 in damages plus future loss of income and cost of future care.
In his statement of claim, the youth says he was repeatedly slapped, punched and kicked by Bhalla, who also conducted an intimate search of his body.
The teen says he was left with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and an inability to work or attend school, court documents state.
The lawsuit accuses Bhalla of fraudulently transferring more than $1.1 million in assets to his wife to protect them from any potential award of damages in a civil claim.
In his response, Bhalla denies the allegations of fraud and injuries suffered by the teen.
andrea.huncar@cbc.ca @andreahuncar
