Director Of Drug Recovery House In Court On Sex Charges Once More

One of the directors of Rapha House, a recovery house for women and a branch of Crossfire Ministries in Vancouver, has been accused of sexual misconduct by a former resident of Rapha House. The woman, who spent seven months at the home, alleges that Heggs,64, used inappropriate behaviour in August of 2005, when he put his arms around her, held her tight, and then began kissing and fondling her. Finally, she says, after her persistent protests, Heggs left the room.

The distraught woman reported the incident to police later the same day, and also that day packed up most of her belongings and moved out of the home. In his defence, Heggs contends that the sexual contact was consensual, but admits that he was very worked up, and left the room only when he realized that the door was still open and he might be found out by the home's 'house mother' who lived just across the hall. He said that he didn't want word getting back to his wife, who is also a director of Rapha House, saying that she would be very upset.

This is not the first time that Clifford Heggs has been in the news for sexual offences. In the late 1960's he was arrested for operating a bawdy house, and was found to be forcing young teenage girls to turn tricks for his clients, mainly in a rental suite in Vancouver's East End that was used solely for that purpose. He was accused of also sexually molesting the girls, aged 13 to 16, as well as forcing them to pose nude for sexually explicit photos, which he then sold to his clients.