Foster parent cleared of charges

All criminal charges laid against a longtime Welland foster parent have been dismissed.

Maurice Lavigueur, a foster parent for Family and Children’s Services Niagara, was arrested and charged last January with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and juvenile prostitution.

The matter was resolved May 4th in a St. Catharines courtroom, with the judge dismissing all charges against him.

Lavigueur and his wife, Lynne have been foster parents to nearly 90 children in their Welland home since the late 1980s.