w B NEWS "MAN FACING HISTORICAL SEX ASSAULT CHARGES FOUND DEAD : ALLEGED ASSAULTS DATED BACK TO 1970S © DAVID LEA 2 dlea@metroland.com A Burlington man ac-- cused of sexually abusing several young boys in a Milton pizzeria he operat- ed during the 1970s, has died. Halton police have con- firmed that Keith John Milton Canadian Champion Urch was.found dead in a Burlington home on Satur- day, Nov. 9. While police would not comment on his cause of death, a family member of one boy said investigators told her he died by suicide. Urch, who was the co- owner of the Pizza Stop in Milton from 1972 to 1978, was arrested in May of 2016 and faced four charges of committing an indecent act on a male, four charges of committing an act of" gross indecency and two charges of buggery or bes- rm-- : i tiality. The charges relate to multiple alleged victims. Three men were plan- yg, ning to testify against Urch. Following a number of delays, Urch's trial was set to Sept. 14, 2020. A woman, whose broth- er was allegedly abused by Urch, discussed her reac- tion to learning the man was dead. "I was glad he was dead. I was glad that we didn't have to go through this next year," she said. "He was a coward." The woman, who asked that her name not be pub- lished" said her brother was just 10 when he met Urch in the mid-1970s. She said during that-pe- riod Urch was the co-own- er of the only pizza shop in Milton and alleged he used this position to befriend Working? Call 289-203-3499 - Fastest Emergency Service in Milton « 24 hours a day 365 days a year UD insidehalton.com Graham Paine/Torstar - Halton police have confirmed that a man accused of sexually abusing several boys during the 1970s has been found dead. her brother and other young boys and then lured them to the store's base- ment, where they were supplied with drugs and al- cohol and sexually abused. Halton police say Urch offered jobs to boys be- tween 10 and 16 years old and paid them for sexual acts. The woman said the ST 11s It Sa fe 7 . AtlasCare Heating + Cooling + Plumbing abuse of her brother went on for years and had a dev- astating impact on his life, resulting in frequent brushes with the law and extensive drug abuse. Her brother would ultimately die of a heroin overdose on Oct. 30, 2007. Prior to that, the woman said, her brother told her about the sexual abuse he "| think it's important to know the damage that was done to all of these hoys. Their lives have all taken not the best paths as a result." » had suffered. In 2016, after Urch was arrested and Halton police put out a request for other victims to come forward, the woman and her family approached investigators and told their loved one's tragic story. "I think it's important to know the damage that was~done to all of these boys. Their lives have all taken not the best paths as a result," she said. "My brother came from a very good family. "We never understood why he was doing the - Sister of alleged victim things he was doing and of - course he never spoke up because of the shame. "It caused a family dy- namic over the decades that never should have oc- curred." With Urch dead, the woman said she has some regret he will never pay in a court of law. "I think it is very sad that the justice system al- lowed it to go on for three years before it was finally going to go to trial and then it was once again remand- ed for another year," she said. PARMOILL fe! 400 Main Street E. . Suite 206 Milton BI 5 4 MPP - Milton iors Dental Care Pro NOW available! Contact Us 905-878-1729 Parm.Gill@pc.ola.org www.ParmGilL.com