A French priest, dean of the parish of Avesnes-sur-Helpe (northern France), died Monday night, a few months before his trial for sexual assault, the diocese announced on Thursday Cambrai and the prosecution.
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He was due to appear before the Douai Criminal Court in October “to stand trial on sexual assault charges,” Douai prosecutors said, confirming information from the local press.
He was found dead on a railway line, said the Avesnes-sur-Helpe prosecutor, who is responsible for investigating his death.
Father Benjamin Sellier, 47, was “deeply affected” by the court case after a young girl and her family lodged a complaint, the Diocese of Cambrai said.
“As bishop, I think of this young mourner and his family, of the parishioners and priests of the diocese, and of Father Benjamin’s grieving family,” responded the Archbishop of Cambrai, Monsignor Vincent Dollmann.
Father Sellier was ordained a priest in 2015 after spending his early career as an administrative manager in Landrecies, a small town in northern France.