June 22, 2016 08:40
from Teresinha Medeiros
(One of Bastien’s alleged victims speaks at a news conference regarding a civil suit in November 2015)
A retired local priest facing a slew of sex charges has passed away.
89-year-old Linus Bastien died peacefully on Sunday with his family by his side.
He was facing about two-dozen charges of gross indecency, indecent assault and sexual assault.
He was scheduled to begin his trial this October.
The allegations date back to the 1950’s up until the 1990’s when he served at more than 10 churches and schools across Windsor-Essex and Chatham Kent.
Bastien’s lawyer Pat Ducharme says with Bastien’s death, the trial will not proceed.
“We have notified the court and crown and we will bring the matter into court and anticipate the crown will withdraw the charges,” says Ducharme.
Although some of the alleged victims were concerned about the delays in the case, Bastien’s lawyer Pat Ducharme disagrees.
“There were a number of pretrial applications. The court dealt with those pre-trial applications in due course. There was no lack of due diligence and the victims would understand themselves when they waited 40-50 years to make complaints,” says Ducharme.
Ducharme says he had concerns over Bastien’s health as he was showing signs of dementia which progresses quickly with old age.
One of the alleged victims tells AM800 news that “victims such as myself will have no closure.”
“It is a sense of loss for any hope of closure that me and the 11 other victims might of had,” he says.
“I would have loved to have heard the judge say guilty and hear the gavel slam on the table, that’s what me and the 11 other victims–that’s what this is all about,” he says.
A publication ban prevents his name from being released.
Back in 2015, a civil suit was launched against Bastien and the Catholic Diocese of London that sought over $3-million in damages.
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Retired Windsor-Essex priest facing sex-related charges has died
CTV Windsor
Published Wednesday, June 22, 2016 11:34AM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, June 22, 2016 11:35AM EDT
A retired Windsor-Essex priest, who was facing several sex-related charges, has died.
Linus Bastien, 89, passed away on Sunday.
First arrested in 2011, Bastien was facing 30 criminal charges including; gross indecency, indecent assault and one count of sexual assault on a person under 14 years old.
His death means there will be no criminal trial, which was scheduled to begin in October.
He was also facing a civil lawsuit. Three men, who all allege they were abused by Bastien in the 1970s, launched a lawsuit in November, 2015 for $3.1-million.
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Priest Facing Sexual Assault Charges Dies
blackburnnews.com
June 22, 2016 9:04am
An elderly priest facing indecent assault charges involving boys at his Maidstone parish 33 years ago, has passed away.
The lawyer representing Fr. Linus Bastien, Patrick Ducharme, confirms his death.
“Father Linus Bastien passed away peacefully at his residence Sunday night.”
The Diocese of London has also issued a statement.
“The Diocese of London takes any allegation very seriously and cooperates fully with the authorities investigating them.”
Ducharme says once there is a proper death certificate, “we will go before the court, which we expect to do shortly — we would advise the court of his death and the prosecutor will indicate they are not proceeding with the charges, and they’ll withdraw the charges.”
Bastien and the Diocese are also named in a civil suit filed by the alleged victims of sexual assault.
Lawyer Rob Talach with Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers who represents complainants in the civil case says his clients are disappointed.
“They are very upset with this outcome. The writing was on the wall though considering the pace of the criminal prosecution ,” says Talach.
The civil case will continue against the Diocese of London.
“I always say time tells all trusts and we’ll still be able to question the Diocese and other priests and get to the bottom of what really happened,” says Talach.
The Diocese says Bastien served in several parishes in the Windsor-Essex area since 1951, including St.Mary’s Parish in Maidstone.
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89-year-old priest facing sexual assault charges dies
The Windsor Star
A former Catholic priest, who was scheduled to stand trial later this year for allegedly sexually assaulting several young boys, has died.
Windsor defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme confirmed Linus Bastien died in his home this past Sunday.
He was 89.
Bastien was a priest in Windsor and the surrounding area from 1951 to 1997 and faced dozens of charges.
The charges included indecent assault, gross indecency, sexual assault and sexual interference against several young boys.
Bastien was accused of sexually assaulting young boys while serving as a priest at St. Charles Parish in the former Township of Tilbury East, St. Mary’s Parish in Maidstone, St. Paul’s in LaSalle and St. Joachim Parish in Lakeshore.
Ducharme said the trial was scheduled to take place in the next couple months, but expects the crown will now withdraw the charges.
Victims of the alleged sexual assault filed a civil suit last year out of frustration of the prolonged proceedings, which have stretched out over four years.
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Retired Catholic priest facing sex crime charges dies
Posted: Jun 22, 2016 10:52 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 22, 2016 10:52 AM ET
Linus Bastien, an 89-year-old charged with several sex-related offences he was alleged to have committed while serving as Catholic priest in southern Ontario decades ago, has died.
Police charged Bastien, of Chatham, Ont., with several offences over the years, dating back to the 1950s.
Locally, Bastien was assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in Maidstone and St. Paul’s Catholic Church in LaSalle.
Bastien’s case had been moving through the justice system at the time of his death.
“Although some of the alleged victims were concerned about the delays in the case, Bastien’s lawyer Pat Ducharme disagrees.
“’There were a number of pretrial applications. The court dealt with those pre-trial applications in due course. There was no lack of due diligence and the victims would understand themselves when they waited 40-50 years to make complaints,’ says Ducharme.”
??????
What a slap in the face to the victims! As I see it, Father Bastien. a Roman Catholic priest, spent part of the the past five years trying to decide if he did or did not molest those boys, and if somewhere along the line he concluded that indeed he did, then he set his sights on trying to find some way to get off scott free on a technicality, and if concluded that he truly did not lay a wayward hand on any of those boys then for some unfathomable reason he set his mind to avoiding going to trial to prove his innocence.
What a mean, denigrating and ultimately damning thing for Ducharme to say!!! Who the hell does he think he is anyway?
To make fun of this monster’s victims in this way is beyond anything reasonable.
“the victims would understand themselves when they waited 40-50 years to make complaints”!!
What does this slimeball Ducharme think, that they waited 40-50 years just so they could be insulted by him?
Welcome to christianity in the new millenium!!! I feel ill because obviously this Ducharme does not recognize nor understand how hard it is for a man to come forward and admit that this happenned.
Maybe Ducharme should have went a couple of rounds with Bastien – maybe then he could grasp it. Mike.
I doubt that Mike…defense lawyers for pervert collars worship the same thing that church does…money. If one of his loved ones was abused, he would probably get it but that’s doubtful too. Damn them all.