Former Nunavik police officer charged with historical sexual offences against minors

A Nunavik musician and former police officer has been charged with sexual offences against minors dating back decades.

Charlie Keelan, 49, was arrested Monday in Kangiqsualujjuaqand made his first court appearance Tuesday.

In a news release Thursday, Quebec'sBureau des enqutes indpendantessaid Keelanfaces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, unlawful confinement and invitation to sexual touching.

It said Keelan was a police officer with the Nunavik Police Service during the 1990s and 2000s.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2006 in Quaqtaq, an Inuit community of about 450 people in Nunavik. They involve at least four minors aged 15 and 16.

The Bureau des enqutes indpendantes, which investigates criminal allegations against police officers where complainants are First Nation or Inuit, said Keelan's arrest comes after a months-long investigation by the bureauand the Nunavik Police Service.