CANADA: 84-year-old Charged with Sexual Assault

BRAMPTON, ONTARIO (The Brampton Guardian), December 25, 2004:

An 84-year-old Brampton man has been accused of sexually assaulting two young girls over a 10-year period.

Gerald Patterson was charged by Caledon OPP earlier this month with two counts each of sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference.

Caledon OPP would not reveal the man's relationship to the two girls or how they came in contact with one another. They would not release the ages of the girls, either, but at one point over the 10 years they would have been under 14 years of age because he is charged with sexual interference.

That charge is laid when a victim is under 14 years of age and the accused is "in a position of trust or authority," according to Sgt. Bob Paterson.

"They were young girls and the assaults happened in both Brampton and Caledon," Paterson said.

OPP officers began an investigation after receiving a complaint from the girls Dec. 15. They told police they had been sexually assaulted in both Brampton and Caledon between 1994 and 2004. Det. Sharon Hanlon is the lead investigator in the case.