French priest accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children dies

A French priest sought by Canada for sexually abusing Inuit children more than 30 years ago but who avoided extradition and prosecution has died, a Catholic missionary group said Friday.

In the Canadian north, priest Johannes Rivoire's case remains emblematic of the impunity of sexual abusers in the Church.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate confirmed in an email to AFP that Rivoire, who lived in France, died on April 11 after a long illness. He was 93.

"We recognize that this news will be difficult for many to receive, especially for the survivors and their families who advocated for him to face justice in Canada," said the statement.

"We sincerely regret that despite all their efforts, Rivoire never made himself available and will never face the charges that were laid against him. We further regret that efforts for him to be formally removed as a priest were unsuccessful."

Rivoire spent three decades as a missionary in Canada's far north, but left the country in 1993.

He was the subject of an arrest warrant between 1998 and 2017 for sexual abuses of three minors.

A new warrant was issued in 2022 and an Inuit delegation later traveled to the Vatican to ask Pope Francis to personally intervene in the case.

It was hoped the pontiff would press Rivoire to return to Canada to stand trial or face prosecution in France.

Rivoire denied the allegations and a Canadian extradition request was denied by France.

Marc Miller, who was Canada's Crown-Indigenous relations minister at the time, said it was "heartbreaking to see this grave injustice continue."

A commission led by a Quebec superior court justice concluded last month that on the "preponderance of evidence," Rivoire was guilty of sexually assaulting five children in Naujaat, Nunavut, between 1968 and 1970, and one child in Arviat and Whale Cove, Nunavut, between 1974 and 1979.

Piita Irniq, who spent three decades seeking justice for Rivoire's victims including a childhood friend, told AFP he was "disappointed that Canada wasn't able to get him back here to stand trial for his horrific crimes against Inuit children."

"He left a legacy of intimidation, fear and horror for his victims, and now the people he abused in Nunavut in the 1960s and 1970s will have to start a whole new healing process," he said.

Steven Mapsalak, a victim who was part of an Inuit delegation that traveled to France and confronted Rivoire, told AFP: "I told him in my own language that he did really bad things to me and I felt that I was at least owed from him an apology. I never got it," he said.

"I'm happy that he's gone. He was an asshole and a liar. Good riddance."

© 2024 AFP