Article content continued

In a brief phone conversation from Amsterdam, Kollmar’s wife, identified on his website as a Dutch justice department lawyer, told the National Post there wasn’t much she could say as she had been provided with little information.

His California lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim was 11 or 12 years old when she and her family joined Students of Light in Toronto in 1974. Kollmar was a teacher in the group and helped enlist new members.

It is alleged that Kollmar spent time with the girl under the guise of being her spiritual adviser and that he molested her over a number of years.

She told authorities that she had come to believe Kollmar was a spiritual leader “chosen by God,” and that she felt she was “chosen by God to be with him.”

Throughout their relationship, Kollmar told the girl that he intended to marry her when she turned 16, according to the complaint. “Accordingly, (the girl) felt that it was her ‘responsibility’ and ‘honour to be with him, and married to him.’”

Federal prosecutors say the girl reported Kollmar’s behaviour to her parents when she was 16, but her parents were apparently advised by a lawyer against lodging a formal complaint. It wasn’t until she was in her mid-30s, in 1997, that she notified police and an initial arrest warrant for Kollmar was issued.

By then, Kollmar had moved to Amsterdam and opened a coffee bar and restaurant, according to his online profile.