A former monk in training at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old Snowmass, now serving a state prison sentence, is due to make his first appearance in Pitkin County District Court on Monday to face a new charge of sexually assaulting an adolescent boy more than 10 years ago.
Local law enforcement officials close to the case offered few details Wednesday about the scheduled appearance of Wilfred Laurent Carignan, 72, who worked at the monastery from 1996 to 2001.
Carignan currently is serving separate prison sentences of six years to life and eight years to life in Fremont Correction Facility in Canon City, on two felony convictions of sexual assault of a child out of Delta County, according to records from the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC).
The new alleged victim, now in his early 20s, gave investigators a detailed account of his sexual relationship with Carignan, after one of his parents tipped off monastery officials about the allegations. The tip came in the form of a letter placed on a windowsill inside the monastery bookstore. The letter was discovered by a monastery employee in late August, according to the source.
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