15°c Clear
25°c Variable cloudiness
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Priest sues woman over sex claims
A veteran priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is suing a former parishioner, alleging a damaging letter of complaint she wrote to his superiors resulted in his forced retirement.
Rev. John A. Melnyk, 84, said the woman's letter alleged inappropriate sexual advances and contact, which Melnyk said never happened.
In a statement of claim filed recently, Melnyk said the woman's letter of complaint "injured his credit and reputation" and resulted in him being "brought into scandal, odium and contempt."
Melnyk is asking the court to award him unspecified special and general damages and his court costs.
The woman filed a statement of defence, insisting her letter of complaint was truthful, accurate and justified, and she denied her letter caused any damage to Melnyk's reputation.
The woman could not be reached for comment.
The allegations have not been proven in court. No court dates have been set.
Melnyk told the Free Press he had been the parish priest at St. Michael's Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Disraeli Street since 1997 when in the summer of 2011, he asked to be transferred to a rural Manitoba parish near the American border.
Melnyk said his superior rejected the request and told him to take retirement on the grounds of the letter of complaint from the parishioner.
"I asked to be replaced from St. Michael's but I wanted to continue serving... a country parish near the American border, where I had served for 23 years, on a monthly basis," Melnyk told the Free Press. "He (the superior) refused to give me an extension because he said I had a sexual charge against me."
Melnyk said he has known the woman who made the complaint against him for five or six years, adding he believes her to be in her 60s.
He said he's been married for 58 years and has never been the subject of any similar complaints in the past.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 26, 2012 B2
Fact Check
Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
100K protesters flood Brazil streets in protests venting anger over poor government services
1:29 AM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Report: Saatchi cautioned over London assault on TV presenter wife Nigella Lawson
- Kenyan wins Manitoba Marathon
- Three-year-old girl drowns at Cross Lake First Nation
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- UFC army conquers Winnipeg in one day
- Hong Kong flight with passenger who claimed everybody poisoned lands in US; police greet plane
- Family tweets indicate Kim Kardashian gives birth several weeks ahead of due date
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Jaimie Creasy becomes first woman to graduate from RRC with degree
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Portage Ave. stretch re-opens after Friday-night bomb scare
- Kenyan wins Manitoba Marathon
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Filipino singer Charice comes out as lesbian; Catholic official says she's in identity crisis
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Three-year-old girl drowns at Cross Lake First Nation
- Report: Saatchi cautioned over London assault on TV presenter wife Nigella Lawson
- MTS providing tower, charging station for Dauphin Countryfest fans
- Winnipeg's got the REIT stuff
- The crime fighter's revolution
- To hike or not to hike? Retailers unsure what to charge for PST on July 1
- Blood, sweat and cheers: Mixed martial arts goes from gory nights to glory days
- Exchange District BIZ rolls out recycling bins
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Two men dead in house fire near Elie
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Jaimie Creasy becomes first woman to graduate from RRC with degree
- Priest kept silent about accusations against Storheim, court hears
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Yaz and Yasmin pills linked to 23 deaths, say Health Canada documents
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Police: US driver drove drunk while having sex, crashed, hid behind cactus
Ads by Google
The Winnipeg Free Press is not accepting comments on this story.