federal government settled the claims of over 200 abuse complainants from Gordon, while others were awarded sums after successfully suing the government. The George Gordon band was named by the federal Department of Justice as a co-defendant in three abuse lawsuits. The Canadian government maintains that, from 1975 until the closure of the Gordon school in 1996, the band had an advisory board in place that was responsible for administering the school—and by implication, was probably aware of what was happening. Some Gordon victims agree: "We have leadership that has gone through this system and now they want to cover it up.… They could have stopped it. But our bands were not there for us then and they don't give a rat's ass about us now." On the reserve today, the Gordon Recovery and Wellness Centre provides services and support to the victims of the abuse that occurred during the residential school system. William Starr In particular, William Starr, the administrator of the school residence from 1968 to 1984, is regarded as the worst offender, sexually abusing boys during his near-20-year leadership at the school. He eventually admitted to sexually abusing many boys, possibly hundreds. Since the school's closure, hundreds of lawsuits were filed that detailed allegations of sexual abuse by Starr and others. In 1993, Starr was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting 10 boys during his time as head of the residence. (Later that year, he was sentenced for five counts of sexual assault that took place when he was working with boys at a sea cadet program in New Brunswick.) Out of the 230 Gordon School plaintiffs who received a federal settlement, all claimed to have been abused by Starr. Native workers Many former Gordon students have also said that many Indigenous workers at the school knew of William Starr's conduct, but rather than stopping it, they would accuse students of lying or humiliate them, and even call students "fag" and "Starr's baby." Others victims remember being physically and sexually abused by Indigenous staffers themselves. Tony Merchant, a Regina lawyer whose firm has handled thousands of residential-school lawsuits, claims that about 25% of his cases involve alleged Indigenous abusers. Some such abusers have also appeared in court, such as William Strongeagle, a former judo instructor at the school. In 1993, Strongeagle was convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old former Gordon student, Betty Nippi (now