All sexual assault charges against Bruxie Cavey, the former pastor of Ontario megachurch The Meeting House, have now been stayed or withdrawn.

Two charges were withdrawn in a Hamilton court on Wednesday because the Crown said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. The second charge was stayed in July because it took a lot of time to commence a lawsuit.

“Mr. Kvi is innocent of these charges,” his lawyers, Megan Saccard and Arash Ghiasi, said in a statement following this week’s court ruling.

KV’s lawyers said that the person who informed the police about KV has made false allegations.

“But according to the sequence of events he told the police, no criminal incident had taken place,” the statement said.

KV was in court when Judge Fabiano Mendes accepted that the charges had been withdrawn.

He agreed to a 12-month peace bond, meaning he cannot have any contact with the accused person or come within 50 metres of their workplace or residence.

His lawyers said “the two have not been in contact regarding any matter for a number of years and he has no intention of contacting her.”

Cavey resigned from the pastorate in 2022

The allegations became public in March 2022 when the meeting house posted online that it had received allegations of sexual misconduct against Cavey. Cavey was then a 57-year-old primary teaching pastor and had served at the Oakville-based church since 1996.

Kavey posted an apology on his website for what he called an “extramarital affair”, and acknowledged his power and influence as a spiritual leader.

He resigned shortly thereafter and was charged with one count of sexual assault in June 2022. That charge was withdrawn this summer.

Hamilton police also charged him with two further counts of sexual assault in December 2023.

A trial date was scheduled for Wednesday after Cavey pleaded not guilty. Instead, the Crown decided not to pursue charges, citing the issue of consent.

The meetinghouse closed

The Anabaptist church announced on its website that as of last weekend it would no longer operate under the name Meeting House.

It was unable to continue its regular programs because its insurer was not renewing its abuse liability insurance, or employment practices liability coverage. CBC Hamilton previously reported,

“It’s very difficult for us to get together, at least for our in-person congregations,” Pastor Chris Chase said in a June 23 YouTube video.

“It’s really hard to do that because we can’t guarantee the safety of staff, we can’t guarantee the safety of vulnerable people, including volunteers, children and young people.”

The Meeting House recently posted online that new “church communities” would be launched under the banner of the BIC Church Collective in various cities across Ontario, including Hamilton.

“We are encouraged by being reminded that the church is not an organization or an institution, but a community of people who follow Jesus together,” it said on its website.