Nunavut Priest Makes Brief Court Appearance on 77 Criminal Charges.

By David Murphy
Nunatsiaq Online
May 16, 2012

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674priest_makes_brief_court_appearance_on_77_sex-related_charges/

Former Oblate missionary Eric DeJaeger leaves an Iqaluit courtroom Jan. 20, 2011 after his first appearance for six child sexual abuse charges in Igloolik dating back to the 1970s. (FILE PHOTO)

Oblate missionary Eric Dejaeger appeared in court on the morning of May 14 to be formally arraigned on 38 new charges against him that have emerged since last April.

Those bring the total number of criminal charges against him to 77, the majority of which allege sex offences against children.

The court proceeding, however, was held over until July 16 so lawyers on each side can review new and information brought forth by a police investigation.

“By July 16, we’re fairly confident that we’ll have an excellent idea of just what the case will be that we’re presenting before the court,” said lead Crown prosecutor Paul Bychok.

“And we’re hoping if everything goes smoothly, that we would be able to choose a trial date for 2013,” he said, noting the spring of that year is a possibility.

There will be no preliminary inquiry in the case, but when the trial does start, all charges will be dealt with in one trial, expected to last for at least a month.

So far, there are 39 official complainants, with one additional complainant Bychok is aware of. But more could come forward in the future, he said.

“The nature of this kind of scenario is that one can never be entirely sure that at some point in the future, another individual will not come forward,” said Bychok. “But we’re very close to that point in time where we’ll know the exact perimeters in this particular case.”

Bychok said a draft of the indictments is completed but is evolving as more complainants come forward. The indictment is slated to be presented to the court in the summer or early autumn.

The last time Dejaegar appeared in court was Jan. 23. This time he made a brief appearance, walking swiftly into the Nunavut Court of Justice courtroom without restraints, but accompanied by a police officer. He wore a blue sweatshirt and blue pants, and whispered to his lawyer, Malcolm Kempt, from time to time.

Dejaeger, a native of Belgium who gave up his citizenship to become a Canadian citizen in the 1970s, studied at Newman Theological College in Edmonton to become a Roman Catholic priest.

Once ordained, he moved to Igloolik and lived there from 1978 to about 1982. He then left for Baker Lake, and stayed there until about 1989.

In 1990, he pled guilty to nine sex offences related to his stay in Baker Lake, and served time in prison until 1995. After more charges were laid against him — this time six alleged offences from his time spent in Igloolik — he fled to Belgium and missed a court date in July 1995.

More charges were laid through the Nunavut court in 1995 and 2002, and Interpol issued an international warrant for his arrest in 2001.

Dejaeger spent time in Belgium until a Belgium newspaper exposed his past and he was arrested in 2011.

The Belgium government, then discovering Dejaeger was not a citizen of their country, elected to deport him in January of 2011. He is now held in custody.

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