“Ex-priest jailed for sex crimes against dozens of children and a sled dog in the Canadian Arctic” & related articles

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9news.com.au (Australia)

05 February 2015

Eric Dejaeger. (Supplied)

Eric Dejaeger. (Supplied)

A defrocked Catholic priest was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years in prison for sexual assault of dozens of children in the Canadian Arctic, where he worked as a missionary for decades.

Belgian-born Eric Dejaeger, 67, was convicted in September of 31 counts of sexual offenses against Inuit children and one count of bestiality with a sled dog.

With credit for time served while awaiting trial, he is expected to spend the next 11 years in jail.

Dejaeger had originally faced 80 charges, but the judge ruled the evidence had been weakened by the passage of time, and whittled down the number in the indictment.

During the emotionally-charged trial, more than 20 victims testified that Dejaeger used his position as a missionary to lure them into sex, threatening them with hellfire and separation from their families if they exposed him.

From 1978 to 1982, Dejaeger worked alongside other local priests in Igloolik in what was then the Northwest Territories, and eventually took on Canadian citizenship.

In 1990, he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting eight children in Baker Lake, Nunavut.

Following his release from prison and facing fresh allegations, he fled to his birth country of Belgium, where he was arrested in 2011 and subsequently returned to Canada to face prosecution.

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Nunavut pedophile ex-priest sentenced to 19 years

Toronto Sun

 QMI Agency

First posted: | Updated:

Eric Dejaeger

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

 

A pedophile ex-priest has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for sex offences committed in Nunavut between 1976 and 1982.

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children.

The convictions include unlawful confinement, indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of bestiality and involved both boys and girls.

He had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against boys.

Dejaeger was acquitted of 48 counts. Those alleged offences ranged from sexual touching to rape.

With time already served in custody, Dejaeger has 11 years left in prison, according to Nunatsiaq News.

In 1990, the Belgium native pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1995, he was to face six more charges of indecent assault and buggery but fled to Belgium. Dejaeger was returned to Canadian custody in January 2011.

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Defrocked Nunavut priest Eric Dejaeger gets 19 years for sexually abusing 22 Inuit children and one dog

The National Post

Canadian Press | February 4, 2015 10:41 PM ET

Catholic priest Eric Dejaeger leaves an Iqaluit, Nunavut courtroom Jan. 20, 2011 after his first appearance for child sexual abuse charges in Igloolik dating back to the 1970s.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Windeyer

IQALUIT, Nunavut • A defrocked Arctic priest was sentenced to 19 years in prison for dozens of horrendous sex offences against Inuit children, while his victims received a plea from the sentencing judge.

“Your anger must be put aside,” Justice Robert Kilpatrick told the victims of Eric Dejaeger in his written decision released Wednesday. “Your trust in others must be restored. You must learn to rely on the good around you.

“Despite what has happened to you, there is still much good in people.”

Dejaeger’s acts took place 35 years ago in the remote Nunavut community of Igloolik where he was an Oblate missionary. The details of the 32 convictions are so appalling, Judge Kilpatrick’s sentencing judgment comes with a warning of graphic content.

His crimes, committed between 1978 and 1982, included indecent assault, unlawful confinement, buggery, unlawful sexual intercourse and bestiality.

The victims include 12 boys, 10 girls and one dog. Most were between the ages of eight and 12, although they could have been as young as four and as old as 18.

Many testified at trial that Dejaeger, now 67, trapped them into sex by threatening them with hellfire or separation from their families if they told. Sometimes he dangled food in front of hungry children as a lure.

During victims impact statements, witnesses described permanent mental and physical scars. One man said that the smell of moldy wood still takes him back to the mission’s boiler room where Dejaeger raped him. A woman told court she blames Dejaeger for the scars that have been diagnosed on her womb.

Judge Kilpatrick wrote that such damage calls out for a harsh sentence — especially in a territory where high rates of sexual abuse blight many lives.

Dejaeger received eight years worth of credit for time served and will spend no more than 11 years in jail for these offences. Although his lawyer told the judge that his client feared dying in prison, Judge Kilpatrick said Corrections Canada is capable of dealing with Dejaeger’s health concerns.

Dejaeger has already served one five-year sentence on 11 counts of assaulting children in Baker Lake, Nunavut.

He still faces four sex abuse counts in Edmonton.

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Nunavut pedophile ex-priest sentenced to 19 years

Kingston Whig

 QMI Agency

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

A pedophile ex-priest has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for sex offences committed in Nunavut between 1976 and 1982.

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children.

The convictions include unlawful confinement, indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of bestiality and involved both boys and girls.

He had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against boys.

Dejaeger was acquitted of 48 counts. Those alleged offences ranged from sexual touching to rape.

With time already served in custody, Dejaeger has 11 years left in prison, according to Nunatsiaq News.

In 1990, the Belgium native pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1995, he was to face six more charges of indecent assault and buggery but fled to Belgium. Dejaeger was returned to Canadian custody in January 2011.

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Nunavut pedophile ex-priest sentenced to 19 years

ownesoundsuntimes.com (Owen Sound, Ontario)

QMI Agency

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

A pedophile ex-priest has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for sex offences committed in Nunavut between 1976 and 1982.

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children.

The convictions include unlawful confinement, indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of bestiality and involved both boys and girls.

He had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against boys.

Dejaeger was acquitted of 48 counts. Those alleged offences ranged from sexual touching to rape.

With time already served in custody, Dejaeger has 11 years left in prison, according to Nunatsiaq News.

In 1990, the Belgium native pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1995, he was to face six more charges of indecent assault and buggery but fled to Belgium. Dejaeger was returned to Canadian custody in January 2011.

________________________________

Nunavut pedophile ex-priest sentenced to 19 years

St Catharine Standard (Ontario)

 QMI Agency

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children. (QMI Agency/Image courtesy of Interpol/Files)

A pedophile ex-priest has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for sex offences committed in Nunavut between 1976 and 1982.

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children.

The convictions include unlawful confinement, indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of bestiality and involved both boys and girls.

He had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against boys.

Dejaeger was acquitted of 48 counts. Those alleged offences ranged from sexual touching to rape.

With time already served in custody, Dejaeger has 11 years left in prison, according to Nunatsiaq News.

In 1990, the Belgium native pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1995, he was to face six more charges of indecent assault and buggery but fled to Belgium. Dejaeger was returned to Canadian custody in January 2011.

________________________________

Eric Dejaeger, Former Priest, Sentenced To 19 Years For Child Sex Abuse

Posted: Updated:

ERIC DEJAEGER
 
A former priest found guilty of sexually abusing children in Igloolik, Nunavut, 30 years ago has been sentenced to 19 years in prison.Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 32 counts of child sexual abuse dating back to his time as a priest in between 1978 and 1982.

“Your selfishness has devastated a generation of young Roman Catholic parishioners in Igloolik,” Justice Robert Kilpatrick wrote in his sentencing decision.

“Many lives have been irrevocably altered by your dark legacy. For many victims, the commission of your offence has marked the end of living and the beginning of their survival. You must now atone for the many wrongs that you have inflicted on others. This sentence is only the beginning of that atonement.”

The Crown had asked for a sentence of 25 years in prison, while the defence suggested 12 years.

Both lawyers suggested that the accused be credited two days for every day spent in pretrial custody.

Kilpatrick agreed, crediting Dejaeger eight years for his time spent in remand. He has 11 years left to serve on the sentence.

Dejaeger has been in custody since January 2011 following his arrest on immigration charges in his home country of Belgium.

It was discovered his citizenship there was no longer valid. Dejaeger was then returned to Canada to face charges laid in 1995.

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Nunavut pedophile ex-priest sentenced to 19 years

Fort McMurray Today (fortmcmurraytoday.com)

 QMI Agency

A pedophile ex-priest has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for sex offences committed in Nunavut between 1976 and 1982.

Eric Dejaeger, 67, was found guilty last year of 24 counts of sexually abusing Inuit children.

The convictions include unlawful confinement, indecent assault, unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of bestiality and involved both boys and girls.

He had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of indecent assault against boys.

Dejaeger was acquitted of 48 counts. Those alleged offences ranged from sexual touching to rape.

With time already served in custody, Dejaeger has 11 years left in prison, according to Nunatsiaq News.

In 1990, the Belgium native pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In 1995, he was to face six more charges of indecent assault and buggery but fled to Belgium. Dejaeger was returned to Canadian custody in January 2011.

One Response to “Ex-priest jailed for sex crimes against dozens of children and a sled dog in the Canadian Arctic” & related articles

  1. Sylvia says:

    I doubt that there is no information in the above articles which would be new to you, – all are drawn from articles which were posted yesterday. But this gives an idea of the coverage and the manner in which different media outlets report.

    There is a fair bit of coverage i the French press. I haven’t posted any of those with google translation because they are all drawn from those original articles. I also looked through some of the coverage in Europe: same thing.

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