A sexual assault charge has been dropped against a Catholic priest, Halton Regional Police confirmed on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the Diocese of Hamilton said in a news release that Friar Ranjan D’Sa of Oakville, Ont., had the case against him withdrawn at the request of the Crown Attorney’s Office.
“We wish to make public the withdrawal of the charge against Fr. D’Sa to assist in restoring his reputation and declare that he is a priest in good standing with the faculties necessary to continue to exercise his priestly ministry,” the diocese wrote on Aug. 10.
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On Tuesday, Halton Regional Police, which had originally been investigating, confirmed to Global News that the case against D’Sa had been withdrawn by the court.
D’Sa has been a member of the clergy since 2010 and the diocese said he’s served as pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Oakville since 2016, as well as the Dean of Halton.
The charge was laid earlier this year after police said they began an investigation in February into an allegation of sexual assault committed against a woman while she was volunteering at an Oakville church.
Global News has reached out to the diocese about whether D’Sa will be returning to St. Dominic.
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