Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating after someone on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, threatened to start cutting down Indigenous totem poles if statues of colonial figures such as John A. Macdonald or Governor General Frederick Stanley (for whom Stanley Park is named) are removed. The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, April 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating after someone on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, threatened to start cutting down Indigenous totem poles if statues of colonial figures such as John A. Macdonald or Governor General Frederick Stanley (for whom Stanley Park is named) are removed. The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., Friday, April 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Police say a 75 year old Coquitlam man has been charged following six allegations of historical sexual abuse involving three teenage boys and one young man.
In a news release on Tuesday, the RCMP say their investigation began last December and resulted in Raymond Howard Gaglardi being charged with four counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation.
The alleged offences took place between 1993 and 2007 at the accused's home, where police say therapy sessions were offered to young people who were met primarily through their parents at church.
Police say Gaglardi has been associated with multiple churches in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, including Hillside Community Church, Austin Avenue Chapel and Evergreen Evangelical.
The Mounties say Gaglardi was arrested and released with conditions that forbid him from being alone with anyone under the age of 18 unless he's in public or unless that young person's parents are aware of the charges he faces.
Police say their investigation is ongoing and appealed for any other alleged victims to come forward.