Archbishop Seraphim Storheim has stepped aside as head of the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church in America. (Archdiocese of Canada)Archbishop Kenneth William Storheim, who has held positions in a number of Canadian communities with the Orthodox Church in America, has been arrested and charged in Winnipeg with two counts of sexual assault.
Storheim, 64, turned himself in to Winnipeg police on Wednesday at about 9:30 a.m., police announced Thursday.
Storheim has been released from custody on a promise to appear in court at a later date.
In October, CBC News reported he stepped down as head of the Canadian diocese of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) amid allegations of sexual abuse involving pre-teen boys.
In a statement released on the OCA website in October, church officials said Storheim was on a leave of absence as police in Canada investigated abuse claims.
The allegations are nearly three decades old, according to Const. Robert Carver of the Winnipeg Police Service, which was leading the investigation.
A warrant for Storheim's arrest was issued Nov. 16, police said.
Storheim flew to the city and turned himself in with a lawyer present, police said. He was most recently living in Edmonton.
Storheim was the rector of Holy Trinity Sobor [parish] in Winnipeg's North End from December 1984 to June 1987, according to an online biography on the church's website.
He has also held positions at churches in London, Ont., Saskatoon, North Carolina and Alberta.
In a September letter to his congregation announcing he was taking a three-month leave, Storheim suggested he was doing so for health reasons.
Alleged victims were pre-teen boys
The head of a Chicago-based victims' organization called SNAP — short for Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests — told CBC News in October it has been pushing for an investigation into complaints about Storheim for years.
In a telephone interview from Houston, David Clohessy said one of the alleged incidents took place in 1984, the year Storheim left a church in London and came to Winnipeg.
Clohessy charged that church officials have known about the abuse claims for years but were slow to act.
He added he hopes that people with any information will pick up the phone and share what they know with authorities.
Police are asking anyone with information that might assist investigators to contact the sex crimes unit at 204-986-6245.
Sex abuse victims can sue Que. priest, order
Former students allege widespread abuse at Saint-Alphonse Seminary
Last Updated: Thursday, November 25, 2010 | 11:55 AM ET
CBC News
Former students at the Saint-Alphonse Seminary outside of Quebec City have won the right to sue a priest who they say molested them.
The dozen alleged victims are also seeking damages from the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the religious order that ran the now-defunct Roman Catholic seminary in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
The former Saint-Alphonse Seminary is located in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Que. (CBC)On Wednesday, the Quebec Superior Court allowed the class-action lawsuit to go ahead.
The suit was filed on behalf of former students who say they were sexually abused by priests between 1960 and 1987. Each of the alleged victims is claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
The former students allege they were molested by Father Raymond-Marie Lavoie, who was a music teacher at the school and also oversaw the dormitory.
Lavoie, who is now in his 70s, also faces criminal charges related to the alleged abuse of youths under his care in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Lawyer Pierre Boivin, who is representing former students in the class-action lawsuit, said the lawsuit will claim that Lavoie and other priests engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy.
"They also, it is alleged, decided who would abuse what kid. They shared the kids," said Boivin.
He said students were discouraged from speaking out.
"One victim spoke to a priest to try to find some help," said Boivin. "What happened is that he was kicked out of the college instead."
The case still faces a number of hurdles before it reaches the trial phase, including a challenge from the college and the order.
Lavoie is expected back in court in January on the criminal charges.