Saskatoon priest accused of sexual assault says he meant to encourage young girl with hug and kiss

Saskatoon Provincial Court is pictured in this file photo. (Chad Hills/CTV Saskatoon)

A Saskatoon priest accused of sexual assault says he meant to encourage and reassure a young girl when he hugged and kissed during his testimony at Saskatoon Provincial Court Friday.

As the only defence witness, Janko Kolosnjaji, 71, used a walker to approach the testimony stand two weeks after having hip surgery Friday during the trial which resumed after two months of delays and adjournments.

Kolosnjaji is accused of hugging and kissing a then 13-year-old, who can't be named because of a publication ban, in a supply room at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral on March 11, 2023. He was charged on April 19, 2023, and placed on leave shortly afterwards.

During his testimony, Kolosnjaji detailed various religious ceremonies and traditions where the "kiss of peace" is customary to show support and appreciation in Greek Catholic religion, like kissing a bishop's rings and shoulders or cheeks during certain liturgies. Kolosnjaji went on to say kissing other priests is traditional, and hugging parishioners after liturgies is commonplace as well.

In previous testimony in August, the court heard how the girl was helping her mother clean the church. As the mom spoke with the priest the girl went to a supply room to retrieve the vacuum cleaner. During the girl's testimony, she said the priest hugged her for 15 to 20 seconds and then grabbed her chin, raised her head and kissed her on the lips.

She said the priest told her she had "very beautiful eyes."

On Friday, Kolosnjaji said he went to the open room after hearing a loud sound. He told the girl to be careful before walking over to her. He said the girl was red in the face and looked as though she was scared and maybe something happened with the vacuum cleaner. In an effort to reassure and thank the usually quiet, timid and shy girl, Kolosnjaji asked the girl to hug him. He said he went to give her a peck on the forehead because her head was tilted down. As he kissed her, the girl looked up and his kiss landed on her cheek near her mouth instead.

He said he never lifted the girl's chin and said he did not kiss her on the lips.

After the alleged incident, the girl and mom left the church. Kolosnjaji said he met with the mom and her boyfriend later and explained he had no bad intentions and was trying to thank the girl for supporting her mom when other teenagers would not, he said.

He previously said he felt the girl was having trouble after newly landing in Canada from Ukraine as a refugee following Russia's invasion of the country in 2022.

During the meeting, he told the mother he related to their experience after coming to Canada in 1991 himself after fleeing the Yugoslavian war.

Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle pointed to differing testimonies between the mom and girl where the girl said Kolosnjaji would hug her when no one else was around while the mom said she saw Kolosnjaji hug and touch his daughter.

"This isn't a situation where he's hunting and seeking her out in some sort of action that happens in secret, that you see, unfortunately, lots of predatorial behavior occur where people are doing things in secret," he said. "This wasn't a secret at all."

Kolosnjaji said he hugged the girl roughly five or six times.

Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo asked Kolosnjaji why he didn't hug the son, instead offering high fives.

He responded by saying he didn't know.

When asked why he didn't hug the mom like he did her daughter, he said she didn't need that kind of support from him.

Fillo said the girl never consented to being kissed and it was Kolosnjaji's "intention to kiss her all along."

"It's a pretty straightforward matter," Fillo said, ending her closing argument.

The case was adjourned until Dec. 12, so a date for a decision on the matter can be set. The judge suggested that would happen in the latter part of January.