He went by the name Doctor Ray Gaglardi.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
September 30, 2020 - 10:44 AM
More charges have been approved against a B.C. Christian counsellor in connection to a series of historical sexual assaults of young men and teenage boys.
RCMP said Sept. 30 that Raymond Howard Gaglardi, 75, has been charged with seven additional counts of sexual assault. These charges follow a July 14, 2020 notification by Coquitlam RCMP that six charges against the 75-year-old had been approved. The new charges filed Sept. 28, 2020, include six sexual assault charges under section 271(1) of the Criminal Code, and a charge of sexual exploitation, section 153 of the Criminal Code.
Then, like now, the RCMP are asking for other victims and witnesses to step forward.
"Witnesses and victims have been incredible," Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with Coquitlam RCMP said in a press release. "Their courage to speak has led directly to these seven additional charges. We want to assure them, and everyone involved, that our investigation is not over."
All nine victims were young men or teenage boys in Coquitlam at the time of the alleged offences. Coquitlam RCMP’s Sex Crimes Unit is now re-focussing on crimes that may have happened in other jurisdictions. One of the avenues investigators are pursuing involves witnesses or victims who may have been part of Glad Tidings Church in Vancouver or Glad Tidings Summer Camp in Sechelt in the 1970s and 1980s.
In an earlier release, investigators alleged that Gaglardi offered therapy sessions to young people who he met primarily through their parents at church, where he went by the name Doctor Ray Gaglardi.
If you think you were a victim, or you know someone who was, please call the Coquitlam RCMP non-emergency number at 604-945-1550 and ask to speak to the Sex Crimes Unit (file #2019-38332).
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