TORONTO - An elderly Ontario pastor actively involved in the Baptist Church has been arrested and charged in a sexual assault case.
Police allege the accused assaulted a girl from 1987 to 1990 when she was between the ages of 10 and 13.
Police further allege the 89-year-old accused was well-known to the girl's family and had assisted them with immigration issues.
Vernon Larthur Hirtle of Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, who is also known as Arthur Hirtle, is charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.
Hirtle has been a pastor since the 1940s in various locations in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
He is scheduled to appear in court at a future date.
