For the fourth time in the past five months, a member of an Old Colony Mennonite Church in Chatham-Kent has been charged with breaking the Reopening Ontario Act for holding a large gathering -- this time, in Dresden.
Chatham-Kent police said they responded to a report of a gathering at the Old Colony Mennonite Church on Grove Mills Line in Dresden on Sunday, May 2, 2021.
When the officer arrived, he reportedly saw 56 cars in the parking lot with more cars arriving.
When the service was over, police allegedly saw 73 people leaving the church, adding that none of them were seen wearing masks.
As a result of the investigation, a 38-year-old Dresden man, who was not publicly identified by police, was charged with failing to comply with a continued 7.0.2 order as per Ontario Regulation 364/20, of the Reopening Ontario Act, 2020, section 10(1).
He will be required to attend Provincial Offences Court in June.
Chatham-Kent police were also called to a separate report of a large gathering at the Old Colony Mennonite Church on Wheatley Road on Sunday. A spokesperson for the police service told Blackburn News on Thursday that complaint was under investigation.
Charges have already been laid three times against members of the Old Colony Mennonite Church in Wheatley since the end of December 2020.