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Ontario police arrest Victoria man, 80, on sex charges dating back to 1970s

Phillip Baugniet, a former teacher at a Montreal arts school, faces multiple charges of sexual assault and sexual interference
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Phillip Baugniet, 80, was arrested by members of the Ontario Provincial Police at the Victoria Police Department on Caledonia Avenue. TIMES COLONIST

A Victoria man has been arrested by Ontario police officers on multiple charges of sexual assault and sexual interference dating back to the 1970s.

Phillip Baugniet, 80, was arrested by members of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police at the Victoria Police Department.

The detachment said in a statement that the arrest is in connection with incidents said to have occurred throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s while Baugniet was teaching at the Fine Arts Core Education school in Montreal and had a property in South Stormont Township, west of Cornwall, Ont.

Fine Arts Core Education is a primary and secondary school.

“Students from the school travelled to a location in South Stormont Township on multiple occasions during this time frame,” police said.

The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Crime Unit began the investigation in May after it was contacted by Montreal police.

Baugniet has been charged under the provisions of the Criminal Code from 1970 with seven counts of indecent assault on a male, two counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual interference, as well as buggery and sexual assault on a person under 16.

He was released from custody after a bail hearing and is scheduled to appear Nov. 16 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall, Ont.

Anyone with information relevant to the case is asked to call the crime unit at 1- 888-310-1122, or to report anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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