CANADA
Hamilton Spectator
Ken Peters
The Ministry of the Attorney General plans to investigate a deal struck by a Hamilton Crown prosecutor that allowed a Roman Catholic priest charged with sexual assault to leave the country without facing prosecution.
The ministry acknowledged the agreement permitted Reverend Jose Silva to return to his native Brazil on condition that he not return to Canada.
“This is not common practice and we will look into this matter further,” ministry spokesperson Brendan Crawley said in an email Tuesday night.
Prominent defence lawyer Dean Paquette said his client left Hamilton in early May as part of a resolution he negotiated with assistant Crown attorney Carey Lee.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.