Nunavut court sentence former missionary priest
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, defrocked Belgian Oblate Eric Dejaeger, 67, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on 32 sex crimes committed in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The crimes committed were mostly against young children in Igloolik, Nunavut, a remote hamlet of about 1,500. On multiple occasions, Dejaeger lured starved children into sex by offering food. Dejaeger’s assaults were well-known throughout the community. However, victims only began coming forward in the late 1990s.
Dejaeger was originally charged in 1995 with three accounts of sexual assault, but he left to go back to Belgium before his trial. Human rights activist Lieve Halsberghe campaigned — and won — for Dejaeger’s trial on Canadian soil. He returned to Canada in January of this year.
In an article for the CBC, Halsberghe told reporters that over the years, the Igloolik community had communicated to her the importance of bringing Dejaeger back to Canada for his trial. More than 40 complaints emerged over 10 months against the priest, known in the Igloolik community as “Father Eric.”
“They were afraid that they were not going to be believed,” says Halsberghe.
In light of Wednesday’s long-awaited sentence, Halserghe has said that the Igloolik will need a lot of help coping with the resurfacing of Dejaeger’s crimes. Though the legal proceedings have concluded, the Igloolik people will need time and compassion in coming to deal with what was an open secret in the community.
“It’s a very important date today to start this closure and to turn the page and to try to have a happy life after this,” concluded Halserghe, “because now they’ve finally regained possession of their lives.”
The RCMP officers in the area are moving forward as well, encouraging open discussion about sexual abuse in the community, specifically that concerning children.
“When we are dealing with something like this, it’s important that people in our communities are able to talk,” said police Spokesperson Sergeant Yvonne Niego. “Younger children can’t often speak for themselves.”
-Compiled by Anjelica Abarra