The former mayor of Montreal North is facing charges of sexual assault against a minor under the age of 16.
Gilles Deguire resigned from his position in a sudden manner earlier in the month. At the time, the Crown confirmed a criminal investigation involving the ex-borough mayor was ongoing.
Documents show the alleged acts took place between Dec. 1, 2013 and Oct. 23, 2015 in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec with someone under the age of 16. Deguire was serving as mayor at the time of the alleged acts.
An arrest warrant was issued on Jan. 11, but was only made public Monday. Deguire was arrested and then released on a condition to appear in court, when he will be formally charged. That is expected to occur on Wednesday.
If found guilty, the 66-year-old married man would face a minimum of one year in jail.
Deguire was a police officer for 30 years, then served as a political attaché for former cabinet minister Line Beauchamp between 1999 and 2009, then ran for municipal office. He had served as Montreal North borough mayor since 2009.
Chantal Rossi, who is serving as the interim borough mayor, offered no comment to CTV Montreal, saying she would respect the judicial process.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre echoed those comments, telling reporters, "We will let the courts do their work."
Coderre revealed there were elements related to the case in Deguire's resignation letter, but that he was unable to disclose them publicly prior to Monday because of the ongoing investigation.
After leaving Gerald Tremblay's Union Montreal party, Deguire joined the ranks of Team Coderre in the last municipal election.
With files from The Canadian Press.
