Former Archbishop Storheim will have to wait for sentence

By David Larkins
Winnipeg Sun
June 18, 2014

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/06/18/former-archbishop-storheim-will-have-to-wait-for-sentence

Archbishop Seraphim Storheim.

A judge has reserved sentencing in a high-profile sex abuse case involving a former archbishop.

Court of Queens Bench Justice Christopher Mainella said Wednesday he will deliver a sentence to Kenneth (Seraphim) Storheim on July 9 after the former archbishop in the Orthodox Church in America was convicted in January of sexually abusing a young altar boy in the '80s.

The Crown is seeking a 12-month jail term, while the defence argued a conditional sentence is adequate.

The 68-year-old, who now lives in Ottawa, was found guilty in January of molesting the boy. At that time, he was also acquitted on charges of abusing the boy's twin brother when the judge ruled the twin posed a "lack of reliability" in his testimony.

"The hallmarks of this case are abuse of trust, abuse of a child, and the historical nature," Crown lawyer Breta Passler said.

She argued conditional sentences are rare in cases with an abuse of trust and that the victim now feels an "overwhelming sense of fear and helplessness."

Defence lawyer Jeff Gindin said Storheim has maintained "exemplary conduct" over the past 30 years and has no prior criminal record, arguing "there is no reasonable purpose" for jail time. Gindin told Mainella intense media coverage has attached a stigma to Storheim's reputation.

"His reputation is ruined, not just among friends, but globally," Gindin said. "This is a dramatic fall from grace."

A previously released statement from the Archdiocese of Canada said Storheim was suspended in November 2010 after the archbishop turned himself in to police. He remained on suspension pending the completion of reports from a Synodal Commission appointed to review the charges from an internal church perspective.