Priest accused in residential school sex assault pleads not guilty

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A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school over 50 years ago will be going to trial.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2022 (763 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school over 50 years ago will be going to trial.

Arthur Masse, through his lawyer, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of indecent assault for offences alleged to have occurred between 1968 and 1970 at the Fort Alexander School in Sagkeeng First Nation.

Masse, 92, was not present for the hearing in Powerview, Man.

Father Arthur Masse (La Société historique de Saint-Boniface)
Father Arthur Masse (La Société historique de Saint-Boniface)

No trial date has been set. His next court date is Sept. 14 in Winnipeg.

Masse continues to live at a retirement home in St. Boniface, after being released with conditions following his arrest in June.

Masse started teaching at residential schools in 1957, spending time at three sites in Manitoba — Pine Creek (Camperville), Fort Alexander and Brandon — according to the Oblates’ internal records.

He also taught at the Fort Frances and McIntosh residential schools in northern Ontario.

Before retiring, Masse worked as a director of an elder care community in Winnipeg from 2001 to 2005.

Masse was charged after a decade-long Manitoba RCMP investigation into allegations of abuse at the Fort Alexander school.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Someone once said a journalist is just a reporter in a good suit. Dean Pritchard doesn’t own a good suit. But he knows a good lawsuit.

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Updated on Thursday, August 18, 2022 10:47 AM CDT: Adds tile photo

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