Initially, a publication ban to protect the victim\u2019s identity also shielded Mackenzie\u2019s name because of their familial relationship. The victim later applied for a removal of the ban, which a judge granted March 5.<\/p>\n
The mother of two said she pursued charges against MacKenzie after her daughter was born. While playing with her in the backyard, she thought of how often women and girls become victims of abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI essentially decided that if I didn\u2019t do something about this, then how could \u2026 I confidently help her navigate something \u2014 if God forbid that were to happen \u2014 if I couldn\u2019t even do it myself?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman asked to remain anonymous because she is not ready to be publicly associated with the abuse she suffered. However, she felt the public deserves to know MacKenzie\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
MacKenzie was the victim\u2019s step-uncle and 25 years her senior. He introduced her to the now-defunct Pentecostal church in central Edmonton, where he worshiped and was involved in youth programs. At the time, he was employed driving a local delivery truck.<\/p>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3277d24555bd892c5d92bb1ecc3358ef.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Ernest Gregory MacKenzie was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2025 for sexually abusing a teenage girl between 2008 and 2012. The victim applied to have a publication ban removed in the case March 5, 2026, allowing MacKenzie to be named.<\/p>\n
In his sentencing decision, Court of King\u2019s Bench Justice Michael Kraus said MacKenzie told the victim it was \u201cGod\u2019s will\u201d that they be together and that their sexual relationship was the \u201cright thing to do.\u201d MacKenzie gave her a purity ring for her 15th birthday and performed her baptism.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe attended church several times a week with the victim and took her to Bible studies,\u201d Kraus wrote. \u201cHe talked to the victim regularly about God, faith, and how to behave that was consistent with God\u2019s will. He used that faith and religion to manipulate the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim said \u201cnot one adult\u201d in the community thought to ask questions, despite multiple witnesses testifying MacKenzie was \u201ctouchy\/feely\u201d with the victim in public. She blames the whole community for what happened to her, adding she no longer has any involvement in organized religion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t see how there could be any higher power \u2026 that would allow such heinous behaviour,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The victim\u2019s sister also experienced a crisis of faith, telling court she struggled after learning \u201ca seemingly God-fearing man \u2026 manipulated religion to exploit a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kraus, who found there were no mitigating factors in the case, said MacKenzie showed no remorse during court proceedings.<\/p>\n
MacKenzie is pursuing an appeal but the victim said he remains in custody. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
MacKenzie is required to register as a sex offender for 20 years and is banned from contact with children under 16 for five years post-release.<\/p>\n
jwakefield@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n x.com\/jonnywakefield <\/a><\/p>\n @jonnywakefield.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don\u2019t miss the news you need to know \u2014 add EdmontonJournal.com<\/a> and EdmontonSun.com<\/a> to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal<\/a> | The Edmonton Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Edmonton man who used his position in a church community\u00a0to sexually abuse a teenager can now be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1771,1772,52,1769,1773,1770,1768],"class_list":{"0":"post-2661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton","8":"tag-church-community","9":"tag-david-bloom","10":"tag-edmonton","11":"tag-ernest-mackenzie","12":"tag-mackenzie","13":"tag-michael-kraus","14":"tag-publication-ban"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}