Catholic priest gets jailed for 47 sex assaults
Pastor Dale Morgan
Catholic priest gets jailed for 47 sex assaults*
CTV News Staff
A Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to three years in prison for
sexually assaulting 47 girls over the span of four decades.
Charles Sylvestre, 84, apologized to the victims and asked for
forgiveness at his sentencing hearing in Chatham, Ont., on Friday.
He pleaded guilty in August to indecently assaulting 47 girls between
1954 and 1986 in five of his parishes.
The victims were between the ages of nine and 14 when they were abused
by Sylvestre while he served as a parish priest in Windsor, Sarnia,
London, Chatham and Pain Court.
The girls were routinely groped and fondled by the priest, court heard.
Other victims reported more intrusive abuse.
Earlier in the day, the trial judge determined Sylvestre was mentally
fit to be sentenced.
After Sylvestre's plea, he underwent psychiatric assessment to see if
his dementia left him unfit to stand trial. The issue had been raised by
his lawyer at a previous court appearance.
Sylvester was ordered to register as a sex offender.
With files from The Canadian Press