With Allyson’s blessing, we have opted not to include the name of the man involved in this story. We want this story to be about her journey, strength and the importance of her message. Please note that this story contains content that some readers may find upsetting.
“I’m still really in the thick of it. I go to therapy consistently. I deal with a lot of sleep problems. I’m really hypervigilant around people. I have a big fear of isolation. Truthfully, I have a lot of symptoms that haven’t gone away, and they won’t.”
It’s a trauma that has lingered for years. When she was just 20 years old, Allyson Kreps was sexually harassed by an employer and close family friend.
It began in the summer of 2017 when Allyson accepted a job working with family friend she’d known her whole life. At first she was excited about the job but before long, she began to sense that something wasn’t right.
“Some things started to get weird,” Allyson told 705BLACKFLY.COM. “He would make weird comments towards me like I could be his mistress and live in his new house. There were other situations where he would not let other people take me on jobs. When work needed to be done, he’d make me go with him.”
On July 10th, 2017, Allyson was scheduled to go on a day trip with the man and one other person. However, the man showed up alone and stated that the other individual could not come. Allyson said he was “dressed like a teenager” instead of in work clothes, and it made her wonder what was going on.
The two drove to a remote hunt camp to install solar panels. While they were moving equipment into the cabin it began to rain, so the two left the equipment and went inside the cabin.
“That’s when he approached me and said some really uncomfortable things about him having feelings for me,” Allyson says. “And that’s when he put his hands down the back of my pants and wouldn’t let go. He was trying to kiss me and kept saying things like how great I made him feel. He kept saying things like ‘how could I not have known’.”
Terrified by what was happening at the hands of someone she trusted, Allyson describes it as a “black out experience”. She managed to pull away and get to the bathroom to call for help but could not get cell service. Having no other options, she went back to the other room and told the man that she wanted to leave. However, he had no intention of letting that happen. Instead, he forced her to go for a ride on a four-wheeler.
“That’s when I thought that was it,” Allyson says, her voice trembling. “That’s when I thought something was going to happen, like I wasn’t going to make it through it.”
The man took her deeper into the woods, stopped near a lake, and forced Allyson to get into the water with him. Afraid and not knowing what else to do, she did as she was told. The man repeatedly told her that he was sexually attracted to her and that it made him feel bad because he had a wife and children. Shocked, Allyson remained frozen and unresponsive. Thankfully, the man gave up and took her home. But it was too late; Allyson’s psychological trauma immediately took a physical toll.
“It was like a complete meltdown,” she remembers. “My mom was very aware that something was wrong. I was throwing up, I wasn’t talking, I was shaking. I was very unwell, so I did end up telling her pretty quickly and it was really, really horrible for her too.”
Terrified and confused by the possible ramifications of speaking out, Allyson chose not to press charges but says she would make a different choice now.
“I didn’t know what to do with this family-friend thing and I was close with his son and his niece. I was so unsure of what to do and I was so young. We decided to contact a lawyer in Toronto for their opinion. It was horrible. It was a horrible experience. She told me basically there would be no point because there wasn’t enough evidence, and he would go to jail for a night and that would be it. He would never see, like, a court date. She was actually the one who suggested civil or human rights (action).”
So that is the route that Allyson and her family chose. She reported what had happened to her to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. When given the option of mediation, she refused because she did not want to agree to a clause that would forbid her from speaking out about her ordeal. She told us that the agonizing process took approximately six years, partially due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
While testifying before the tribunal, the man involved denied Kreps’s version of events and gave inconsistent accounts about what actually happened that day, including saying that he had only touched Allyson to comfort her because she was having a panic attack.
“When we talked about the piece where he put his hands down the back of my pants, he held his hands up literally like OJ Simpson,” Allyson told us. “It was like, “these hands would never fit down pants”. It kind of made a mockery of things which they do outline in the decision a bit.”
That decision was that Allyson was telling the truth about being sexually harassed at work and she was awarded over $39,000 for her emotional trauma as well as loss of income and counselling costs. The ruling also required the man to undergo counselling to prevent further offences.
Being vindicated and seeing the man held accountable for his actions brought Allyson some relief from the years of torment.
“When I heard the decision of the tribunal, I was emotional and extremely relieved,” said Allyson. “There were many things along the way that made this process very difficult. However, I am beyond grateful for the support I had in the end. I don’t believe there is ever true justice in a case like this; however, receiving the decision is the closest thing I’ve felt to justice. Being validated in this system is a powerful feeling for me. When those without bias make the decision that this person did do all of these things, (it brings) some peace of mind that he will be held accountable to an extent. I am proud of myself for never giving up.”
However, the decision by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal isn’t enough. Allyson is committed to letting others know that they do not have to remain silent if they are being victimized and has chosen to speak out to the media.
“This was not something that I was excited to have out in the public. This was not easy at all and it’s uncomfortable and it’s embarrassing and it’s all those things. …As horrible it can be for me, you can see that you can come forward and be ok, I think that’s the justice.”
“There is a much bigger message in people are allowed to be up front with what’s happening,” Allyson continues. “They deserve safety. They deserve to not have people whispering and that’s a big part of this coming out. …I’ve had people come up to me and say this is the reason they came forward about what happened to them. This was thing where I was like, ‘OK, this is worth it. Keep doing this. I can keep going because people feel like they can do it as well. I think that’s the bigger message – you don’t have to be alone.”
Thanks to people like Allyson and the Me Too movement, there has been change. Last August, an independent investigation was conducted into a lawsuit filed by a former Argos coach against Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for sexual harassment and the team for wrongful dismissal. The lawsuit was settled through mediation. Kelly issued a public apology for conduct which led to him being suspended for violating the CFL’s gender-based violence policy.
“I’ve grown, I’ve learned from not only the past couple of months but every day I’m trying to get better, be a better person, better teammate, better male,” said Kelly “I just want everybody to know I’m sorry and I will be better and be a better teammate and person from this.”
Last September, a lawyer in Winnipeg received a 30-day suspension and $4,000 fine after he admitted to inappropriately touching a law student while he was her coach in a University of Manitoba program. The law society disciplinary panel commended the student for coming forward with her complaint, saying she had “nothing to gain personally and everything to lose in doing so.”
Victims are now being provided with resources including Ontario’s Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which provides legal advice and support services for human rights claims under the Ontario Human Rights Code. The organization has emphasized that students who volunteer or are in co-op placements, internships, part-time jobs or are graduating into the labour force have the right to be heard.
While she concedes that change is happening, Allyson says her trauma continues.
“I was extremely suicidal for a while. I didn’t get out of bed. I didn’t do things. I had suicide plans. I was self harming all the time. I wasn’t eating. I was very, very bad for a few years.”
“When you look at these kinds of situations, I don’t think real justice exists because it doesn’t take any of the things away,” she continues. “It’s not that far behind me. I still deal with the residual symptoms every day. …I’m still very active in bi-weekly therapy. I’ve been in therapy for seven years and it will be seven more at least. Because that’s what I need to do to continue to function.
Now a psychotherapist herself, Allyson works with children and families. Creating a safe and open space for adolescents has been critical to her, and Allyson strives to support youth. She encourages everyone to come forward if they are being harassed.
“Being able to share what happened to me saved my life,” Allyson says. “I really hope that for people. I really hope that they can feel safe in sharing even with one person to at least know that someone has you back. It really saved my life.”
If you have been the victim of sexual assault, please reach out for help.
Muskoka/Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services – Bracebridge – Parry Sound – Huntsville: 1 800 461 2929
Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Support Centre – North Bay – 705 476 3355
Women in Crisis (Algoma) Inc. – Sault Ste Marie – 1 877 759 1230
Voices for Women; Sudbury Sexual Assault Centre – Sudbury – 1 877 841 1101
Athena’s Sexual Assault Counselling and Advocacy Centre – Allison, Barrie, Collingwood, Midland, Orillia – 1 800 987 0799
