The Rev. Gordon William Dominey, pictured in 1980 (left) and 2016 (right), was awaiting trial for multiple sexual abuse charges at the time of his death. Photo: Edmonton Police Service
A total of 17 more charges have been laid against a North Vancouver priest charged last month with a series of sexual assault offences allegedly committed in the 1980s.
Edmonton police announced Tuesday, March 8 that four more complainants, all male, had come forward over the past month with allegations against the Rev. Gordon William Dominey, 63. Like the 10 offences with which Dominey was charged last month, the new charges all concern sexual assaults allegedly committed by Dominey while he worked as a prison chaplain at the Edmonton Youth Development Centre, a youth jail, from 1985-1989.
There are now a total of 18 sexual assault charges and nine gross indecency charges against Dominey, police said. He is expected to appear in court Thursday, March 10.
In 1990, Dominey transferred to the diocese of New Westminster, where he worked as an interim parish priest. Until his arrest on February 4, he had served as priest-in-charge at St. Catherine’s Anglican Church, in North Vancouver. Bishop Melissa Skelton said the diocese then placed him on administrative leave.
After Dominey’s arrest last month, Skelton said Dominey was entitled to a presumption of innocence, and asked for the prayers of Anglicans in the diocese. “I am offering ongoing pastoral care and support to Gordon in what must be a very difficult time for him,” Skelton said. “This support will continue as the legal process unfolds.”
Skelton and other officials from the diocese made a pastoral visit to St. Catherine’s a few days after Dominey’s arrest last month, offering pastoral care for concerned parishioners and taking questions from them in a town hall-style meeting. She also wrote a letter to parents and guardians with children attending a preschool at the church, and gave a sermon there.
“For me, the last few days have been a combination of shock, worry and, of course, concern for those bringing the allegations, and for all involved in the case in Edmonton, concern for this parish and concern for Gordon himself,” Skelton said.
The diocese is not currently planning to make any further statements on the matter, spokesman Randy Murray said Wednesday, March 9.