cnews.canoe.ca
14 December 2011
By QMI Agency
A Newfoundland priest is charged with sex offences following allegations dating back to 1969 over a span of two decades.
Father George Smith turned himself in on Wednesday at the Corner Brook detachment, RCMP said in a release.
Mounties said the 38 charges are all “sexual in nature” and are “in relation to numerous events between 1969 and 1989.”
RCMP provided little information about the alleged crimes.
“The priority for police at this time are the victims therefore few other details will be released,” Sgt. Boyd Merrill said in a release.
Smith was suspended from duties in May, 2010, while serving as a priest at a Prince Edward Island church, when the allegations were first made public.
Smith was ordained in 1969 and worked in the Newfoundland communities of Port Saunders, Stephenville and Deer Lake before being transferred to P.E.I. in 1995.
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Newfoundland priest charged with 38 sex-related offences
CTV
The Canadian Press
Date: Wednesday Dec. 14, 2011 2:27 PM ET
CORNER BROOK, N.L. — A Roman Catholic priest has been charged in western Newfoundland with 38 sex-related charges.
George Smith was charged in provincial court in Corner Brook in connection with alleged incidents between 1969 and 1989.
The RCMP say the charges are a result of a 16-month investigation and that Smith turned himself into police today.
Police declined to say specifically what charges Smith is facing.
Smith, who was suspended last year from his duties as a church administrator in Kinkora, P.E.I., was released on conditions.
He is to appear in court on Feb. 23 for a plea.
Police would not release details on the ages of the alleged victims to protect their privacy.