Sex assault suspect established in multiple communities

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This article was published 11/12/2024 (328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The man accused of sexually assaulting a pair of teenage boys inside a Winnipeg change room is a chartered professional accountant who works for the province and serves on the board of a Filipino association.

Paul Tactac Unciano, 47, was charged Friday after an incident at the YMCA-YWCA’s Elmwood-Kildonan branch on Kimberly Avenue. Police said he approached the victims in a common area of a change room and exposed himself, before sexually assaulting both teens.

Unciano is under a court order prohibiting contact with people under age 18 as police continue to investigate.

Unciano was recently elected as an auditor and board member with the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba.

“We are all very surprised about that incident,” fellow board member Efren Cabrera told the Free Press.

Cabrera, who is a lawyer, said the board currently has limited information about the charges against Unciano. He emphasized that they have not yet been tested in court.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the board had not met with Unciano or formally discussed the allegations. He was still considered an active member, but could face suspension — either temporarily, or permanently — pending the result of the police investigation, Cabrera said.

“(Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba) does not condone or tolerate any untoward or any questionable integrity,” he said. “We believe that Mr. Paul Unciano, right now, is still innocent, but we need to know everything about that.”

Unciano reviews all of the organization’s expenses in his role as auditor, Cabrera said.

The attorney described Unciano as, “Just a quiet person and a good person.”

“I don’t see anything wrong when I work with him. As one of the board of directors, he can do all the tasks that are assigned to him.”

A spokesperson for Chartered Professional Accountants of Manitoba confirmed Unciano is a registered member and a chartered professional accountant. The regulatory body became aware of the allegations from a police news release Monday and has launched an internal review.

“We have activated our regulatory process with respect to the member,” the spokesperson said. “There is a process to be followed for any complaint that comes forward.”

The regulatory process typically includes an assessment of a member’s competency and professional conduct, and the potential for disciplinary measures, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson could not confirm how long Unciano has been registered with the regulator, nor whether it has records of any previous complaints against him.

They noted any disciplinary actions taken against members are published publicly. A review of the organization’s online archive showed Unciano has not been named in any disciplinary documents dating back to 2017, the earliest available.

In an online resumé, Unciano described himself as an “experienced accounting professional” with a work history in the “insurance industry, retail trade, construction, health care and in the arts and entertainment industries.”

He said he is currently employed as a senior financial analyst with Manitoba Health.

The province declined to comment on his current employment status.

“The province doesn’t comment on personnel matters,” a spokesperson said.

The resumé said Unciano was qualified as an accountant in Winnipeg in 2015.

He previously achieved his bachelor’s degree in accounting in the Philippines in 1999, where he worked until 2006. He then moved to Saudi Arabia, where he worked as an accountant for an automotive dealer until 2008, it said.

According to the resumé, he landed his first job in Winnipeg in 2009 and has worked for nine employers, including the province, in the years since.

A review of court records shows Unciano has no previous charges in Manitoba courts.

Police said he did not previously know the victims he is accused of assaulting.

The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg has banned Unciano from all of its city facilities, it said in a statement.

— with files from Erik Pindera

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca