Youth pastor accused in sex assault of teen camp counsellor

City police have charged a youth pastor with sex crimes, accusing him of grooming a teenager while he was acting as the director of a day camp at a Winnipeg church.

Police received information about a sexual assault involving the suspect in March, and learned he directed a youth camp group, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between August 2025 and March 2026, when “the pastor forged a sexual relationship by grooming and gaining the trust of a youth camp counsellor who was a teenager at the time,” the release said.

“The survivor met with the accused on multiple occasions in private and also received sexually explicit material sent by the accused.”

Last week, police charged Carson Alexander Parago, 23, with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, luring and the transmission of sexually explicit material to a minor.

WPS spokesperson Const. Claude Chancy said the incidents took place in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Police are not releasing the age or gender of the victim, to protect their identity.

The Free Press has confirmed Parago was working at Centrepoint Church on Watt Street at the time of the alleged offences.

Lead pastor Glenn Krobel said the parents of the victim contacted the church about the allegations involving the accused in March. The church leader immediately phoned sex crimes investigators to alert them to the situation, and filed a formal report, he said.

The church did not know what the investigation had uncovered until police announced charges Tuesday.

“In one respect, we were prepared for it. We want to make very clear that our concern is with the victim and their family; that is our No. 1 concern. As a church, we just want to do everything we can to support the investigation and anything moving forward,” Krobel said.

Parago joined the church in mid-May 2023. He was hired as a pastor of family ministries and the director of the church camp. He remained in those duties for more than two years until Centrepoint placed Parago on leave on Aug. 7, 2025, for medical reasons, Krobel said.

At that time, the church board asked him to return his computer and related work files, and directed him to have no contact with anybody from the church during his leave. He submitted his resignation, but officially remained on the payroll until Sept. 28, 2025, Krobel said.

“This was not related to what we found out in March about this alleged incident, but it was related to just his health. We were concerned and so that’s why we put him on leave,” Krobel said.

“Anything that happened here, any contact with anybody in our church — camp counsellors or otherwise — would have been against our express instructions.”

The pastor said Parago was subject to both a criminal record check and sexual abuse registry check before he was hired. The church has child-protection policies in place that are mandatory for all volunteers and staff.

The Free Press confirmed through court records that Parago had no previous convictions or charges in Manitoba.

“Unfortunately, these types of things are usually complete surprises to the employer, as well. I mean, we have no idea until after the fact,” Krobel said.

“It just behooves the point that you have to have all of your systems in place and make sure you do everything the right way because, even when you do, you still can’t be completely protected.”

Before joining Centrepoint Church, Parago studied at Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan between 2020 and 2024, an online resume stated.

During his studies, he worked as a summer student at the Altona Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church.

Parago has not been a member of the Altona congregation since August 2022 and staff had no idea about allegations against him before the police announcement, pastor David Friesen said in an email statement.

WPS said Parago has been released from custody on court-imposed conditions. Speaking generally, Chancy said they typically include a list of more than 100 rules a suspect must abide by while in the community.

“Right now, it appears to be an isolated incident. The investigation remains open though, so if anybody were to contact (police), of course, that would be taken seriously and the investigation would take on a whole other facet,” Chancy said, adding investigators do not currently believe children who attended the camp were targeted by the suspect.

Chancy encouraged anybody with information about the incident to contact police.

“(Allegations) are always taken seriously, they are always followed up,” he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca