More Sex Assault Charges against Scarborough Priest

By Jodee Brown
Toronto Star
September 30, 2013

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/09/30/more_sex_assault_charges_against_scarborough_priest.html

Ioan Pop, 54, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who attended All Saints, a Romanian Orthodox Church, in the Birchmount Road/Danforth Road area.

Eight more charges have been laid against a Romanian Orthodox priest who was arrested for sexual assault after a couple walked in on him and a woman in his Danforth Ave. church earlier this month.

Ioan Pop, 54, was arrested Sept.11 in connection with an assault on a woman in All Saints Romanian Orthodox Church, where he was the parish priest.

On Monday, he was charged with seven more counts of sexual assault and one of forcible confinement.

Det.-Const. Teresa Curtis told a news conference that, following that arrest, seven additional complainants came forward. The new charges stem from incidents alleged to have occurred between 2005 and 2011, inside the church and at residences in Durham Region and Toronto.

The alleged victims are between 24 and 43 years old.

Pop’s daughter, Teodora-Ioana (Joanna), declined to comment when reached by the Star. Like her father, she has held a leadership position in the church, where she’s listed as the president of the Romanian Orthodox Youth in America.

According to the church’s website, Pop founded the church shortly after his arrival in Canada in July 1999. Starting with very little, he was able to build up the congregation and raise money before consecrating a newly built church at Danforth Ave and Birchmount Rd. in June 2008.

“He built the church with support from our community and provided counselling and enormous religious support to any of its members,” wrote Magda Popescu, president of the church’s Ladies’ Committee, in an email to the Star. “Father Pop was always there for anyone who wanted to confess and strongly encouraged people to get more involved into spiritual daily life. He was always willing to offer help even on the personal matters like for example a ride to or from the airport.”

“The latest events are shocking news,” wrote Popescu. “I believe in the justice system and I’m sure that Police will do the best to find the truth.”

Popescu wrote that the parishioners knew Pop “as a different person” who had “outstanding qualities and merits.”

The church history mentions that Pop’s eldest daughter, Julia-Maria, died when she was 15. “Even when the storm of life hit his family … Father John did not abandon the parish or leave it without Holy Mass or sermon.”

In an interview published in the Romanian newspaper Jurnalul National, Pop said the initial charge stemmed from an incident when a woman came to see him asking for a letter to help her see her son, who is a Crown ward, more often.

He says he kissed the woman when greeting her and again when she was parting, as is Romanian custom, according to the interview.

The charges have shocked many at the tightly knit church. “We are not in a good place because of this,” said bookkeeper Stelian Mandeal.

Police are encouraging any other possible victims and witnesses to come forward.