Warning: this story contains references to sexual assault.
A Ukrainian Catholic priest collapsed in a Saskatoon courtroom and had to be defibrillated after a judge declared him guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a church.
Janko Kolosnjaji, 71, was in Saskatoon provincial court Wednesday to hear the verdict in his judge-alone trial for one count of sexual assault of a minor. Saskatoon police charged Kolosnjaji in April 2023, about a month after a woman reported her 13-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of St. George in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood.
Judge Lua Gibb found Kolosnjaji guilty and scheduled sentencing for June 16. Gibb found the girl did not consent to a kiss from Kolosnjaji and rejected the defence that he kissed the girl on the lips as part of a cultural greeting and not for sexual purposes.
The accused and the victim both testified in court. The victim’s identity is protected by a publication ban.
Kolosnjaji suffered a medical emergency and collapsed in the courtroom after hearing the guilty verdict, according to his lawyer Brian Pfefferle. Court sheriffs provided medical care until paramedics arrived.
“It’s not every day that you see someone with the paddles on their chest, no shirt on, laying sprawled out in a courtroom,” Pfefferle said. “Yesterday we saw that. But the professionalism of the staff here was on display and we’re certainly grateful for that.”
Kolosnjaji is recovering in hospital. Court adjourned for the day and resumed Thursday morning to set a sentencing date, which is scheduled for June 16 in Saskatoon provincial court.
Kolosnjaji remains on administrative leave from the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon pending an internal church investigation and court sentencing.
“He will remain on administrative leave until the final determination in the proceedings under canon law,” according to a church news release.
“The Eparchy sincerely regrets that the complainant suffered the indignity of being the subject of inappropriate contact by an adult male, let alone a member of the clergy.”
A conviction of sexual assault of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail. Pfefferle said his client plans to make a constitutional challenge of the mandatory minimum at sentencing.
Pfefferle said mitigating factors include Kolosnjaji’s lack of previous criminal record, his age and health, and the offence being on “the low end of allegations, which amount to a very brief peck or kiss.” Kolosnjaji will ask the court to give him a conditional sentence in the community.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
