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Priest arrested in sexual assault of 8-year-old girl in
Little Grand Rapids First Nation, RCMP say
UPDATED
Mounties say they've already identified other possible victims,
ask anyone with information to come forward
Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News · Posted: May 30, 2023 9:13 AM PDT |
A Roman Catholic priest has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation — and Manitoba RCMP say they've identified other possible victims.
"We do not wish to traumatize or further traumatize the young victim by sharing her experience in such a public manner," Supt. Scott McMurchy, Manitoba acting criminal operations officer, said at a news conference on Tuesday. "However, we believe that other children may have been harmed in a similar way."
The eight-year-old girl was alone with the priest after he asked her to help him clean the church when he allegedly touched her inappropriately on Saturday, McMurchy said.
The girl told investigators when she tried to leave, the priest forced her to stay in the building, he said. When she was able to get away, she ran home and told her mom, who reported the incident to police.
Manitoba RCMP Supt. Scott McMurchy says an eight-year-old girl was alone with a priest in Little Grand Rapids First Nation when the priest allegedly touched her inappropriately. (Megan Godard/Radio-Canada)
Little Grand Rapids First Nation is a remote community about 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Priest served 2 communities
McMurchy described the priest as someone the girl trusted. While he would not specify how many other possible victims Mounties have identified, he said his understanding is there is a "religious connection" with all of them.
Arul Savari, 48, is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation of a young person, luring a child and forcible confinement. He remains in custody.
Savari was also the priest at nearby Pauingassi First Nation, McMurchy said. As far as RCMP are aware, the priest only served in those two First Nations while in Canada.
Savari, who is originally from India and lives in Winnipeg, has been in Canada for six years and served in Little Grand Rapids for the same amount of time, McMurchy said. He serves the Catholic Church under the Archbishop of St. Boniface.
Following his arrest, Savari was suspended from all ministerial duties and "forbidden to have anything to do with former parishioners and children," according to a Tuesday press release from the Archdiocese of St. Boniface.
The Archdiocese says it will fully cooperate with the RCMP in their investigation.
"The Archdiocese of St. Boniface expresses its deep sorrow to the victim who has come forward as well as to that person's family, and the entire community of Little Grand Rapids who have been affected by the allegations," the release says.
"The Archdiocese will do all it can to assist the victim who has come forward and any who may make known their suffering."
Anyone with information or who wishes to make a report related to Savari is asked to call RCMP in Little Grand Rapids at 204-397-2249 or visit the community's detachment in person, McMurchy said.
Help for people affected by sexual assault is available toll-free through Klinic's sexual assault crisis line at 1-888-292-7565 and Manitoba Justice victim services at 1-866-484-2846, he said.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
UPDATE - Community wants Catholic Church gone
Chief Oliver Owen of Little Grand Rapids First Nation told CBC that's the sentiment he heard during a regularly scheduled band meeting Tuesday.
"I brought that up to the band meeting about our priest and the community right away said, 'you know what, we don't want that person here in the community, we don't want him to come back and we don't want the church here,'" Owen said in a phone interview.
In a statement Tuesday, Southern Chiefs' Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said they stand with the girl who was harmed.
"First Nations have sadly experienced predatory behaviour for generations when it comes to the churches," Daniels said in a news release. "The leaders of the Catholic church have much work to do in repairing relationships with our nations."
Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said Tuesday leaders of the Catholic church have much work to do in repairing relationships with First Nations people in the wake of allegations against a priest in Little Grand Rapids. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in a news release the allegations could affect the whole community.
"We still have residential school survivors that suffered similar abuses, and this ... may be very triggering to those survivors," Merrick said. "My heart is with the people of Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi at this time of sorrow."
Owen said there are two other churches in the community and that if the Catholic church does as the First Nation wishes and leaves, the impact will be minimal.
"We have our own local churches here," Owen said. "Community members run those churches. It's not like we're going to be without a church."
Former principal, teacher at Winnipeg's St. Paul's among
Jesuit priests accused of sexually abusing minors
'It is with deep sorrow that I share these names,' says St. Paul's president Kevin Booth
Darren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Mar 14, 2023 7:31 PM PDT | Last Updated: March 14
The name of Father John Pungente is on a list released by the Jesuits of Canada this week of priests and brothers the order says have been 'credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.' (John Pungente/LinkedIn)
Two former teachers at St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg, one of whom also served as principal, are on a list of accused sexual abusers in the Jesuits of Canada.
"I am incredibly saddened," St. Paul's president Kevin Booth said in a statement posted Monday on the school's website, after it was revealed two former St. Paul's educators — Father John Pungente and Father George Topp — were on the list of 27 priests and brothers released Monday by the Jesuits, a religious order of the Catholic Church.
The people on the list were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors over the past six decades, Jesuits of Canada said.
"It is with deep sorrow that I share these names and I painfully recognize the life-long impact that the trauma of abuse has on the victims," Booth said in the St. Paul's statement.
Topp was a teacher at St. Paul's from 1968 until 1974. He has since died.
Pungente was a teacher at St. Paul's from 1964 until 1967, and again from 1971 until 1976. He served as principal from 1976 until 1983.
CBC made multiple attempts to contact Pungente on Tuesday, but did not receive any replies.
The list released Monday includes people accused of abuse dating back to 1950. Along with each priest's name, it documents each of the places they were assigned to work.
CBC News has not independently verified the allegations against the priests, many of whom have died.
The religious order announced in December 2019 that it would release the names, after conducting a comprehensive audit of 60 years worth of files with the help of King International Advisory Group, a third-party risk assessment organization.
The Jesuits originally planned to release the list by January 2021, but attributed the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Jesuits hope that this act of accountability and reconciliation will help victims and their families in the healing process and continue to seek forgiveness from all those who have been hurt by this profound betrayal of pastoral care," Booth's statement said.
"The Jesuits believe that it is the right thing to do to promote institutional transparency and accountability, an important step to help correct the causes of the crisis."
Booth also asked for prayers "for the victims who have been gravely harmed by those who betrayed the trust placed in them."
"While we cannot change the past, I want to assure our students, parents, alumni and community that we are and have been dedicated to doing everything we can to prevent abuse."
Former Winnipeg priest sentenced to 15 months for
sexually abusing teenage boy
Roland Lanoie, 72, pleaded guilty earlier this month to offences dating back to 1980s
CBC News · Posted: Jun 26, 2020 10:15 AM PDT | Last Updated: June 27, 2020
Roland Lanoie, who is retired now, was working as an ordained priest, holding various positions within the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, at the time of the offences, police said at the time of the former priest's arrest. (terredazur/YouTube)
A former Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused a 15-year-old boy almost four decades ago has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.
Roland Lanoie, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault earlier this month.
His jail sentence will be followed by two years of supervised probation, during which time he must not work or volunteer in a position of trust involving children, a recommendation made by Crown attorney Dayna Queau-Guzzi.
At Lanoie's sentencing on Thursday, provincial court Judge Ryan Rolston talked about the importance of a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offence and the responsibility of the convicted person. The multiple sexual assaults suffered by the victim resulted in trauma, Rolston said.
So, you gave him 15 months, not 15 years! Go figure! Allegedly, 6 years of sexual assaults! Canada's criminal-friendly 'justice' system! It makes me sick!
Police launched an investigation into Lanoie in early 2018 after a man told them he was the victim of a series of sexual assaults from 1982 to 1988.
Lanoie, who is retired now, was working as an ordained priest, holding various positions within the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, at the time of the offences, police said at the time.
The abuse started when the boy was a youth and resident student at the St. Boniface Minor Seminary, but continued after Lanoie left, court was told.
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