No fewer than five members of a Catholic religious order were charged on Tuesday with alleged sexual abuse of boys that were under their watch between 1961 and 1989.
The members of the Clerics of St-Viateur were apprehended at the retirement home of the order in Joliette, Que., approximately 70 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Gerard Whissell, Jean Pilon, Laurent Madore, Raoul Jomphe and Roger Larue whose ages range between 78 years and 88 years are facing some 30 charges which involve 15 male underage victims for abuses that allegedly happened in teaching institutions across the province.
They were arraigned by telephone and released under several bail conditions.
The charges they are facing include gross indecency, sexual assault and indecent assault. Though some of the are no longer in the Criminal Code but they existed when offences allegedly took place.
Also, the order faces a class-action lawsuit representing around 270 alleged victims who reveal members abused them inside a minimum of 20 different establishments.
In a statement, Clerics of St-Viateur Canada said that it was partnering with the police and the justice system but did not comment further due to the ongoing legal case.
