WARNING: This story contains references to sexual aggression.
A Ukrainian Catholic priest collapsed in a room in the Saskatoon court and had to be defraged after a judge declared him guilty of sexually assaulting a 13 -year -old girl in a church.
Janko Kolosnjaji, 71, was in the Provincial Court of Saskatoon on Wednesday to listen to the verdict in his judge’s trial for a position of sexual assault of a minor. The Saskatoon police accused Kolosnjaji in April 2023, approximately one month after a woman reported that her 13 -year -old daughter was sexually assaulted in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of St. George in the neighborhood of Pleanta Hill.
Judge Lua Gibb found Kolosnjaji guilty and scheduled sentence for June 16. Gibb discovered that the girl did not consent to a kolosnjaji kiss and rejected the defense that she kissed the girl on her lips as part of a cultural greeting and not for sexual purposes.
The defendant and the victim testified in the Court. The identity of the victim is protected by a publication prohibition.
Kolosnjaji suffered a medical emergency and collapsed in the courtroom after hearing the guilt verdict, according to his lawyer Brian Pfefferle. The court bailiffs provided medical attention until the paramedics arrived.
“Not every day sees someone with the palettes in the chest, without a shirt, lying in a court room,” Pfefferle said. “Yesterday we saw that. But the professionalism of the staff was on display and we are certainly grateful for that.”
Kolosnjaji is recovering in the hospital. The court was postponed for the day and resumed Thursday morning to establish a sentence date, which is scheduled for June 16 at the Saskatoon Provincial Court.
Kolosnjaji remains administrative license of the Ukraine Catholic Eparquía of Saskatoon pending an investigation of the internal church and judicial sentence.
“It will remain administrative license until the final determination in the procedures under the Canon Law,” according to a Church press release.
“Eparquía sincerely laments that the plaintiff suffered the indignity of being subject to inappropriate contact by an adult man, much less a member of the clergy.”
A sentence for sexual aggression of a minor entails a minimal mandatory sentence of six months in jail. Pfefferle said his client plans to make a constitutional challenge of the mandatory minimum in the sentence.
Pfefferle said that the mitigating factors include the lack of previous criminal records of Kolosnjaji, his age and health, and the crime in “the lower end of the accusations, which equals to a brief brief or kiss.” Kolosnjaji will ask the court to give a conditional sentence in the community.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually attacked. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Canada government website or the Finish the database of the Canada Violence Association. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, call 911.
