A former Romanian Orthodox priest charged in connection with a historical sexual assault in the Russell area, has made his first court appearance.

81-year-old Constantin Turcoane was in Russell yesterday (Wed), where he had his matters adjourned to October 23.

In June, Russell RCMP say a woman in her 60’s reported that a priest at a church in Lennard, Manitoba, had sexually assaulted her multiple times over the course of two years.

The victim was between the ages of 11 and 12 at the time of the alleged assaults.