Edmonton police have charged an Anglican priest in connection with historic sexual assaults that allegedly occurred at the Edmonton Youth Development Centre during the 1980s.

According to officials, Gordon William Dominey, 63, is accused of sexually assaulting five youths between the ages of 14 and 17 while he was employed at the jail between 1985 and 1989.

EPS Staff Sgt. Devin Laforce said the investigation began in September 2015 after two people came forward alleging they had been sexually assaulted as youths while incarcerated at the centre.

“As the investigation progressed, we discovered three more [victims],” said Laforce.

With the help of RCMP, Dominey was arrested without incident on Thursday, February 4, in Coquitlam, B.C. and charged with five counts of sexual assault and five counts of gross indecency.

“It’s a serious offence and the courts certainly take it seriously, so he could be facing jail time for sure,” added Laforce.

Police said it’s not unusual for victims of sexual assaults to delay reporting an alleged crime to authorities.

“There are a lot of complexities with sexual assaults and it’s generally known that it’s an underreported crime to police… it took them a period of time until they were ready in their life to come forward.”

While the Edmonton Youth Development Centre no longer exists, police said they are currently working with a number of former employees and believe there may be additional victims and witnesses.

“We don’t have any information specifically regarding any complainants beyond 1990. That being said we know he was very active between ‘85 to ’89, so we believe quite possibly [there were] other complainants around that time frame.”

EPS confirmed Dominey had been living in B.C. “since about 1990” -  most recently serving as a pastor at St. Catherine's Anglican Church in North Vancouver.

Dominey is being detained in B.C. until he can be transferred to Edmonton - no court date has been set.

Anyone with information about "Father Gord" is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.