Executive Pastor of Main Street Church Johannes Vermeer is facing two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of accessing child pornography for offences dating back to March 2015 and May 2010.
According to police, RCMP began investigating the 58-year-old after allegations of possession of child pornography were reported to police in early 2015.
A bio from the church’s website, which has since been taken down, said Vermeer was a founding member of the church and served as the executive pastor since 2009.
It also said he had extensive knowledge in business and post-secondary education.
Vermeer has since been released.
Shawn Vandop, a senior pastor at the church said members of the congregation were notified last Sunday and Vermeer had resigned last month.
“In 2015, we were told about activity on our computer by monitoring company. We immediately called the police and reported that and they came and took those computers,” said Vandop.
“So we have waited all this time for them to do their investigation and this is what they have come up with.”
He said situations like these are a “stain” on society, noting the church’s priority is safety of the children.