Priest facing charges of child sex assault

Winnipeg Free Press
January 7, 2015

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Priest-facing-charges-of-child-sex-assault-287796881.html

A former Winnipeg priest is facing allegations of sexual assault against children.

Father Ron Léger, the former pastor of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference.

Two of the sexual assault charges date back to the 1980s, while the third charge of sexual assault and the charge of sexual interference were for alleged incidents that occurred between late 2002 and late 2004.

His first court date is Jan. 26 at 1 p.m.

Léger is out of custody and currently residing in eastern Canada. He is presumed innocent until a court of law proves otherwise.

Léger was appointed pastor of Holy Family Parish in 1995. Before that, he founded Teen Stop Jeunesse, a teen drop-in centre, in 1980. The centre was originally called Ron’s Drop-In and was located on Rue Des Meurons, but it has since moved to the 500 block of St. Anne’s Rd.

In a statement provided Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service said the investigation into the case was completed by officers with the child abuse unit.

"The incident is historical in nature and the victims (children at the time) and accused are known to each other, thus this is not an incident that we would publicize," the WPS said, adding no additional information is available.

Contacted on Wednesday morning, Archdiocese spokesman Father Léonce Aubin said the allegations are taken very seriously.

"We have a protocol in place and we followed it," he said. "The investigation was done by the police and it’s up to the court now.

"The alleged victims can, if they need, get counseling from the Archdiocese."

Earlier this week, the Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface released a statement expressing "its deep sorrow to the victims who have come forward as well as to their families and the entire parish community of Holy Family who have been affected by the alleged actions by their former pastor."

The Archdiocese said it co-operated with investigators when the allegations came to light in February 2014.

Immediately, the accused was suspended from all ministerial activity and ordered to have no contact with parishioners and children.

"Each time the heinous crime of sex abuse is reported, victims and their families are wounded again, the vast majority of faithful priests bow their heads in shame, and sincere Catholics, Christians and people of good will, experience shock, sorrow, anger and righteous indignation," the Archdiocese said, in the statement.