Sexual assault trial of former priest scheduled to begin in Iqaluit

Former priest Eric Dejaeger leaves the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit after a brief court appearance in June 2023. (Dave Gunn/CBC)

By RCI, CBC News

The trial is scheduled to take two weeks

The trial for a former Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse begins at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit on Monday.

Eric Dejaeger faces eight counts of historical sexual assault.

The charges stem from what is alleged to have happened while Dejaeger was working as a priest in Igloolik between 1978 and 1982, according to court documents. The investigations happened between 2011 and 2015.

Dejaeger was arrested on the charges in Kingston, Ont., in June 2023 and taken into custody in Iqaluit. He was 76 at the time. He was then granted bail on the condition that he live at the Henry Traill Community Correctional Centre in Kingston, which has 24-hour supervision.

The judge-only trial is scheduled to take two weeks.