Retired Priest Released on Bail on Charge of Sex Assault on Seven-year-old Boy in 1970s
By Zev Singer and Teresa Smith
An elderly priest and former school board trustee shuffled into an Ottawa courtroom in shackles and blue plastic jail booties to make a first appearance on a sex charge Thursday. Father Jacques Faucher of Gatineau, 76, was charged Wednesday with gross indecency and indecent assault on a male for a “series of inappropriate contacts” with the boy that are alleged to have occurred between 1971 and 1973. The Crown Thursday consented to his release on a $6,000 bond and several conditions, including that he not communicate with his accuser and with three others. Faucher was also ordered to reside at an Aylmer address and stay away from parks, pools, playgrounds or any other places children may be present. Dressed in a dark sport coat and striped polo-style shirt, the bald Faucher stood quietly in the prisoner’s box with his arms behind his back before turning to survey the media gathered in the court. He later sat down and crossed his arms in front of him, staring straight ahead. When Faucher asked whether he could keep his computer, the Justice of the Peace told him he couldn’t have it. She also banned him from using the Internet or having any electronic devices or cameras. He was released to a female family member. His next court appearance will be March 12. In a statement released Thursday, the Archbishop of Ottawa, Terrence Prendergast, announced Faucher’s suspension. “On learning that Fr. Jacques Faucher has been charged with criminal misconduct in relation to a minor, I want to advise our Catholic faithful, and the wider community, that I have suspended him from all ministry and prohibited him from representing himself as a Catholic priest,” Prendergast said in a written statement. Police say the investigation, which began in November 2012, is ongoing and detectives are asking anyone with information to come forward. Faucher, who grew up in Ottawa, was ordained in 1960 and served in a number of Ottawa parishes over the course of his career. Highlights of that career were written up in the Spring & Summer 2010 issue of Catholic Ottawa, the newsletter of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, to mark Faucher’s 50 years as a priest. It recounts that he studied theology in Paris before coming back to Ottawa and serving in the parishes of Notre Dame-des-Anges, Saint-Louis-Marie-de-Montfort, Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc, and Christ-Roi. Faucher also taught at the Grand Seminaire, the newsletter said, and was “actively involved in the field of education, notably teaching catechism in several high schools.” The priest also served as a trustee on the Ottawa Board of Education. In 2011, he published a memoir about his life growing up in Lowertown entitled “Sur Les Chemins De Ma Memoire: Un echo de la Basse-Ville d’Ottawa.” In it, he describes the walks he took as a child around Lowertown with his Grandfather, Leopold Beaudry. The two went many times to the Chateau Laurier where Faucher describes the vast lobby, bathed in lamp light and crystal chandeliers. “To my child’s eyes, this place could evoke the dream of Cinderella’s Castle. At seven years old, nothing can be better than being carried away on the wings of imagination.” The book opens with a quote from Brazilian novelist Lya Luft “Childhood is the ground on which we walk all our life.” Faucher has been lauded for his work in helping to establish Daybreak, a non-profit organization that provides transitional, minimum support housing for low-income men and women. In a story about Daybreak that ran in April of last year, Faucher told the Citizen about the effort 30 years earlier to address the slums that were housing people with disabilities — “the invisible poor, we called them,” Faucher said. Faucher has also put time into the Catholic Immigration Centre, the Rooming Houses Ecumenical Corporation for low income people, the United Way of Ottawa, the Club Richelieu, Cooperative Radio-Ville Marie Outaouais and the Anglican/Roman Catholic Canadian Dialogue. Police ask anyone with information about the alleged incident or other incidents to contact the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault/Child Abuse Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5944 or phone Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS) or toll free at 1-800-222-8477. Contact: zsinger@ottawacitizen.com Contact: aseymour@ottawacitizen.com Contact: tesmith@ottawacitizen.com
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.