Former Manitoba missionary couple convicted of child sex crimes in Dominican Republic
CTV
A missionary couple, previously living in Manitoba, have been convicted of sexual crimes against children in the Dominican Republic.
A missionary couple, previously living in Manitoba, have been convicted of sexual crimes against children in the Dominican Republic.
Adam and Tracee Pepper, a couple who once lived in the Steinbach area, have been found guilty of sexually assaulting and threatening children in the Dominican Republic.
According to Adam's Facebook page, the two had been in the Dominican Republic periodically since 2018 doing missionary work.
"We hope to use our gifts and skills for love, support, and build relationships with children and their families,” Adam said in a May 2019 video promoting the trip.
A police investigation in the Dominican Republic in early 2021 began when one of the children's mothers made a report about images found on a cell phone given to her by Adam Pepper. On it, the mother saw images of her son being sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors say Adam told the boy at the time of the assault that if they told anyone, he would stop giving them gifts.
“The child's mother stated that the defendant told her to leave the child with him, to spend more time alone with him and to sign a paper stating that if anything happened to her, he and his wife would keep the child,” a statement from the attorney general of the Dominican Republic said.