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	Ex-Missionary Admits Abuse 'One Can Only Imagine What the Effect Is on the Little Boy' By Dianne Wood Record September 7, 2007 http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=record/Layout/Article_Type 1&c=Article&cid=1189149349692&call_pageid=1024322085509&col=1024322199564 A former missionary has been jailed for 45 days for sexually touching a 12-year-old boy he met at a church. Hector Osorio, 56, of Kitchener, admitted to touching the boy's genitals while he was sleeping with him in the same bed at a friend's home in July, 2006. Kitchener's Ontario Court heard he met the boy at a church in Niagara Falls and befriended him six years ago. The boy's mother let her son live with Osorio twice for several months at a time. He later moved to Kitchener and the mother and boy followed. The boy called him dad. Osorio helped him with his homework. "He was fulfilling a parental role," Crown prosecutor Mark Poland said Wednesday. "One can only imagine what the effect is on the little boy. He's a respected man in the church." Poland characterized the offence as a "low-end sexual assault." But the breach of trust involved made it serious, he added. Osorio said he'd made a "major, terrible mistake." "Sir, I'm terribly sorry," he told Justice Gary Hearn. He said the mother was having trouble handling her son and had asked him to help. While the boy was with him, his school reported he was doing much better, he said. Osorio was upset that the mother didn't report the incident until eight months after it happened. Even though she knew and continued the relationship with him, Osorio said she didn't tell police until after she became angry that he wasn't spending enough time with her son. He had written her a letter saying she needed to take more responsibility for her son, he said. Osorio pleaded guilty to sexual interference in July. The boy awoke while he was being fondled. He told Osorio he was cold and moved to another bedroom, court heard. He told his mother what had happened, but nothing was said. Osorio, who is from Colombia, is the eldest of 13 children. Seven of his siblings are pastors, his lawyer, John Graham said. He lived all over the world and worked in the rain forest as a missionary, court heard. He left after a missionary was murdered and pursued a career in fine arts in Canada. He's also the author of three books, one called The Great Unknown. He currently makes a living by selling paintings, graphic designs and illustrations. He is divorced. "Often good people do bad things," Hearn said after noting Osorio, who came from an abusive childhood, is an active member of his church and is seen as a man of integrity and high moral standing. He was placed on two years' probation. He cannot seek employment or volunteer work which would put him in a position of trust with anyone 14 or under for five years. dwood@therecord.com
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