CANADA
Mississauga News
By Roger Belgrave
PEEL – Peel’s Catholic school board said it is normal practice to keep parents and the community in the dark when a staff member is accused of criminal wrongdoing, such as the sexual assault of a minor.
“What we do is go on our practice and our practice has been not to communicate on allegations or charges against individual staff members,” said Bruce Campbell, chief spokesperson for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
The explanation comes after allegations of sexual abuse by a priest working for the board surfaced in January, but were only recently brought to light by the board.
Father James Roth reportedly committed suicide in February after confessing to sexually assaulting a young boy 14 years ago.
Roth was working as a priest-in-residence with the board until the latter part of January, when he was removed from ministry after the allegations were reported to police. He had been with the school board since 2008.
Roth was a member of the Oblates of St. Francis De Sales order based in Ohio, but on assignment with the Archdiocese of Toronto and working at the Dufferin-Peel board.
A complainant contacted police in the United States to report Roth sexually assaulted him in Michigan when he was about nine years old. When informed by police of the allegation, the order recalled Roth from his position at the school board and he returned to the United States for an investigation launched by the church.
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