Man faces new child porn charges

Former Kitchener resident initially arrested in July was out on bail

KITCHENER — A 52-year-old man who used to run a Kitchener centre that provided free support for cancer patients has been arrested a second time on child pornography charges.

Gerard Seguin, who now lives outside Waterloo Region, was arrested Thursday morning. He appeared in a Kitchener courtroom on Thursday.

He remains in custody and returns for a bail hearing Dec. 13. A publication ban prohibits publishing any evidence related to the charges.

Seguin was the former executive director of HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre in Kitchener. He left the agency last February.

Seguin was first arrested on July 25. He was charged with possession of child pornography after police seized computer equipment at a house in Kitchener.

The house was searched as part of the investigation of Waterloo Regional Police’s cybercrime unit into complaints related to child pornography from September 2016 to July 2017.

Seguin was out on bail on the first charge when he was arrested again Thursday.

The second set of charges include two counts of making child pornography, four counts of making child pornography avail-

able, and one count of agreement or arrangement of a sexual offence against a child.

Seguin, sporting a beard and glasses, sat handcuffed during his brief court appearance Thursday. He wore a grey T-shirt and athletic pants. He was holding a sweatshirt.

Linda Maxwell, director of operations at HopeSpring, was shocked to hear about the charges.

“I know nothing about this,” she said Thursday. “This is the first time I’m hearing about this.”

Maxwell said Seguin left HopeSpring in February to pursue other endeavours. “I find this really sad,” she said.

Seguin was hired as the executive director of HopeSpring in November 2013.

Last January, the agency announced it would have to close its doors by the end of March because it didn’t have enough money to remain open.

The agency operates solely on donations.

But an emergency community fundraising campaign raised more than $300,000, and the agency then said it would remain open.

The centre has been providing free support to cancer patients, their families and caregivers since 1995. About 1,500 people use the centre a year.

Before starting at HopeSpring, Seguin was the director of development and donor relations for the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for six months.

In a symphony newsletter in April 2013, the organization touted Seguin as having extensive fundraising experience, including at the Ottawa Public Library, and the Canadian Cancer Society and Juravinski Cancer Centre.