Burlington church defends its pastor, who is facing sexual assault charges

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A Burlington church has come to the defence of its pastor who is facing sexual assault charges. Donna Skelly has the details.

50 year old Peter Rigo was charged after a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her between 2006 and 2007. Rigo is currently the pastor at One Community Church in Burlington. At the time of the alleged assault, the church operated as the Dominion Christian Centre in Hamilton. That church was the focus of a high profile trial in 2009 involving a Milton couple, charged in the attempted kidnapping of their daughter. The couple claimed the girl had been brainwashed by the church. Dominion Christian Centre lost it’s charitable status that same year for questionable spending on luxury trips, clothes and gym memberships.

In response to the recent charges, One Community Church issued the following statement in defence of Peter Rigo. “We, the board of directors of One Community Church are aware of the allegation against one of our pastor, Peter Rigo. This is a police matter. We trust the judicial system and it’s process to find this allegation false. We know our pastor as a dedicated husband, father and friend and we steadfastly support him during this time.”

Police have not released further details of the assault but believe there may be more victims.