(CANADA)
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) [Toronto, Canada]
December 17, 2022
By The Canadian Press
Police believe there may be more victims
A retired priest has been charged in an alleged historical sexual assault that investigators say occurred in the Toronto area four decades ago.
Peel police say in a news release they received information in October that a Catholic priest who practised in the Peel region between 1980 and 1983 allegedly sexually assaulted a boy while he was attending church.
On Thursday, an 84-year-old man of Toronto was arrested and charged with gross indecency and indecent assault on a male.
The force says the priest has been retired from the parish since June 2013, but it believes there may be more potential victims.
The Archdiocese of Toronto says in a statement that the allegations date to when the man was pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Mississauga, Ont., and it also lists parishes where he served in the region going back to 1974.
The statement notes the archdiocese prays “for all those who are affected by this painful situation” and that it “looks upon any allegation of misconduct as an urgent matter that requires serious attention,” but it also notes the man “is entitled to due process, as is any accused individual.”