Image copyright PA
A Toronto man has been arrested and charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement involving incidents that allegedly took place at a North York church.
Patrick Barlow, 52, a church deacon, is accused of the crimes dating back to 2013.
He was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.
Barlow was arrested on Saturday night after a six-month investigation into abuse at St Patrick’s Catholic Church, located in the town of Stouffville, north of Toronto.
Image copyright CBC Image caption Barlow is a church deacon at St Patrick’s Catholic Church in North York
Images released by police include one which showed Mr Barlow wearing a medal donated by then Pope John Paul II.
One of the churchgoers who assisted police in their investigation told the Toronto Star newspaper that one of his daughters first spotted her deacon behaving inappropriately.
“My daughter was just in tears, she was shaking,” Gerald Wong told the newspaper.
Father Giorgio Stanichich, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Toronto, told the CBC that Mr Barlow was sent home from work in February 2014.
“It’s very sad and unfortunate,” he said.