Former priest guilty of indecent assaults of Nunavut children

A Catholic priest's sexual abuse of Inuit children decades ago in Igloolik, Nvt., transformed a once friendly and trusting hamlet into a place marred by anger and addiction, court heard Thursday.

Wails and shouts could be heard in the Iqaluit courtroom where Eric Dejaeger, 77, pleaded guilty to indecent assaults against six girls and one boy between 1978 and 1982. He had previously been convicted of dozens of offences against children and some adults.

A woman, whose relatives were abused by Dejaeger and was in court to offer support, read a victim impact statement describing the harm done to the tight-knit community.

“I grew up in Igloolik, in a beautiful environment (where) everybody knows everybody, greeting each other with smiles and laughter. There was much respect for each other in that community," she said.

"Today, that environment is gone … the once happy community is now filled with anger, disrespect, abuse and mental illness.”

She called Dejaeger a "sick monster."

“I am not going to tell you to rot in hell, but I hope they throw you in a small room with vicious husky dogs and they rip you up alive."

Prosecutor Emma Baasch described each of the assaults in graphic detail in the Nunavut Court of Justice. She spoke of horrific sex acts and said some children were as young as four when the abuse began. One complainant described blacking out from the pain.

In some cases, it began with the priest offering the children candy. Court heard Dejaeger took a girl on his lap and had her colour a picture of Jesus giving someone a flower. He then assaulted her.

Of one victim, the prosecutor said, "Mr. Dejaeger told her she would go to hell if she said anything."

Baasch said Dejaeger told another girl "that Jesus would not accept her anymore" if she told anyone what happened.

A woman who said the abuse started when she was six told court she would urinate on herself on purpose. The more it smelled, the safer she felt.

"I would let it dry and do the same thing all over again. I refused to change my underwear and my pants," she said.

"I wanted revenge for the little girl he hurt. I wanted revenge because the little girl was scared. I don't want revenge anymore.

"I'm 51 years old and I'm not a little girl anymore and I'm not scared anymore."

Others who delivered victim impact statements spoke of how they will no longer set foot in a Catholic Church or let their children do so.

"I don't like to go to church anymore, even if it's a special occasion," one woman said in her victim impact statement.

"I hate seeing new priests come to our community. I hate the smell of the incense that the Catholic Church uses."

She said she recently found her birth certificate and that she planned to burn it because she thinks Dejaeger may have baptized her.

A picture of that woman when she was five was presented to the court as an exhibit, and pained wailing could be heard in the video conference of the court proceedings.

"Look! I hope you recognize her," a woman could be heard shouting.

One woman told court it has taken a lot of counselling to realize what happened wasn't her fault. 

"For a very long time, I hated my body. For a long time, I had such a low self-esteem because you made me believe I was dirty. You made me believe I was not worthy."

Some women described feeling uneasy receiving physical affection from boyfriends or husbands. People also told court how they use drugs and alcohol to ease the pain. They also said they're afraid of dogs because Dejaeger had one.

A man who was four when he was abused by Dejaeger during confession told court he has struggled with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder and has had a hard time keeping a job and trusting people.

RCMP announced in June 2023 that Dejaeger had been arrested on a Canada-wide warrant in Kingston, Ont., where he had been living. They said the charges stemmed from investigations conducted between 2011 and 2015.

Dejaeger was previously convicted of committing numerous sexual offences while working as an Oblate missionary.

Dejaeger served part of a five-year sentence, beginning in 1990, for sexual crimes against children in Baker Lake, Nvt., committed between 1982 and 1989.

In 2015, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for 32 crimes against Inuit children and some adults between 1978 and 1982 in Igloolik. The offences included indecent assault, unlawful confinement and bestiality.

Later that year, he was also sentenced for historical sexual offences against children in Alberta, to be served concurrently with his sentence for the earlier Igloolik charges.

He was given statutory release on May 19, 2022, after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

The final victim to read her statement in court Thursday said she wants to reclaim her life.

"I am not going to wish you ill will. I want to forgive you," she told Dejaeger. "I am going to learn to accept that I am worthy and I matter."

The case is back in court Friday for sentencing arguments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 23, 2025.

By Lauren Krugel in Calgary.