Defrocked priest facing new sexual assault charges in Igloolik, Nunavut
Court records show defrocked Oblate priest Eric Dejaeger is facing six charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual assault for crimes he allegedly committed in Nunavut between 1978 and 1982.
The records indicate that five of the complainants are female and one is male. Their identities are protected by a publication ban.
A Nunavut Court of Justice document also says that the alleged crimes took place in Igloolik, an Inuit hamlet in the territory's Qikiqtaaluk Region.
Iqaluit RCMP announced Wednesday that Dejaeger was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant in Kingston, Ont., where he was living. Police gave no details about when and where the alleged assaults occurred, but said the charges stem from investigations conducted between 2011 and 2015.
The former priest has previously been convicted of committing numerous sexual offences when he was working as an Oblate missionary.
He appeared on the charges in Iqaluit on Thursday. His next court appearance is set for June 27.
A court order prohibits him from having contact with the complainants and one additional person.
Dejaeger served part of a five-year sentence beginning in 1990 for sexual crimes against children in Baker Lake, Nvt., committed between 1982 and 1989.
He was then sentenced in 2015 to 19 years in prison for 32 crimes he committed against Inuit children and some adults between 1978 and 1982 in Igloolik. The offences included indecent assault, unlawful confinement and bestiality.
Later that year, he was also sentenced for historical sexual offences against children in Alberta, to be served concurrently with his sentence for the Igloolik charges.
He was given statutory release on May 19, 2022, after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
At the time, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller told reporters people like Dejaeger "should rot in jail."
Rev. Ken Thorson, with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe Canada, said in a statement Wednesday they "condemn any acts sexual abuse."
"At this point, we have not yet been contacted by police, but we are fully committed to co-operating with authorities as this process continues."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.