MONTREAL — A prominent West Island deacon who used to speak publicly about sexual crimes has been charged with the production and distribution of child pornography following a police investigation.
William Kokesch, a 65-year-old deacon of St. Edmund of Canterbury Parish in Beaconsfield, was arrested Friday after police carried out two search warrants – one at his home in Pointe Claire and the other at the church.
The Archdiocese of Montreal announced on Saturday that it immediately removed Kokesch from all ministry and pastoral activity.
“Having just learned of the charges against Mr. Kokesch, the diocese is profoundly upset,” it said in a statement. “Child pornography is an affront to human dignity, and our first concern rests with those who are its victims.”
Police seized more than 2,000 computer files as well as messages left on chat-room sites on the Internet.
“Police conducted the searches after receiving a complaint from a citizen,” said Constable Danny Richer.
Kokesch, a Vancouver native who is married and the father of five adult children, was formally charged on Saturday via a video conference. He did not enter a plea at his arraignment, and he is expected to be detained during the Christmas holidays until a bail hearing next week.
Congregants of the close-knit St. Edmund of Canterbury Parish were shaken by the news.
“My dad and I are shocked,” said Frank Dunn, the son of 89-year-old deacon Phil Dunn.
“We all thought he was a nice guy. He was fairly active as a deacon until a few months ago when his legs started bothering him.”
Kokesch, who was ordained as a “permanent deacon” in the diocese of Montreal, served as the communications director for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa. In 2005, he was entrusted by the conference to coordinate the Canadian delegation to World Youth Day Catholic celebrations in Cologne, Germany.
Kokesch had also worked as a radio reporter for the CBC in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was later sought after by the news media for his insights into the scandals engulfing the Catholic Church.
“Reconciliation doesn’t happen overnight,” Kokesch told CTV in a 2006 interview. “Healing takes time.”
Kokesch’s Facebook page states that he was among the 1975 graduating class at Concorida University with a degree in communications and political science. Although his Facebook page also states that he works for the Canadian Relgious Conference in Montreal, The Gazette could find no mention of Kokesch on the organization’s website.
Police are urging anyone with more information to contact investigators at Info-Crime at 514-393-1133.
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