Charles Sylvestre

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Charles Sylvestre (born September 2, 1922 in St. Joachim , Ontario , † January 22, 2007 in Kingston Penitentiary, Kingston , Ontario) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who took advantage of his position to sexually abuse children. His crimes are among the worst cases of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Canada . In 2006 he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a total of 47 girls between 1954 and 1984.

Life

Professional background

Charles Henri Sylvestre grew up in St. Joachim, Ontario, where he attended primary school. He then studied fine arts at Sacred Heart College in Sudbury , Ontario and graduated with a bachelor's degree . He then studied philosophy and theology at St. Peter's Seminary in London , Ontario. On May 21, 1948 he was ordained a priest . His first job was St. Alphonsus Parish in Windsor , Ontario, where he worked as an assistant chaplain until 1953 .

From 1953 to 1954 he helped establish St. Charles Garnier in Hamilton , Ontario . He then moved to the Sacred Heart Congregation in Windsor and LaSalle as an auxiliary chaplain . During this time, he molested at least four girls for the first time. From 1957 to 1958 he was artistic director at King's College . As a chaplain at Mount St. Joseph's girls' school, he again abuses two girls.

From 1958 to 1962 he worked as a pastor in St. Thomas Aquinas in Sarnia . There he molested seven girls. When the police started investigating based on a sister's testimony, Sylvestre was transferred to Montreal and the investigation fizzled out. Sylvestre attended the Holy Cross Fathers diocese in Montreal from 1967 to 1968 . Aware of his crimes, he tried to make amends there and studied at St. Michael's College for at least one semester.

From 1963 to 1968 he took up church work again and worked in Delhi, Windsor and Port Dover. He was also a librarian at Regina Mundi Catholic College in London. In 1968 he became a pastor under Gerald Emmett Carter at St. Ursula's Parish in Chatham, Ontario. During this time he abused 29 women.

From 1980 to 1989 he was a pastor at Immaculate Conception in Pain Court , Ontario, where four girls were among his victims.

In 1989 the diocese published a paper that dealt with sexual abuse within the church and how to deal with it. Several acts by Sylvestre emerge under this policy. He was advised to visit a rehab clinic. In Michigan, he underwent three months of therapy. In 1992 there was a hearing during which he was given a psychiatric examination. He was retired on August 13, 1993. While many cases came to light at that time, it was not until July 2, 1996 that he was first charged.

Litigation and conviction

In 1996 he was accused by two women of molesting them in the Diocese of London . The two women asked for $ 5.25 million Canadian dollars . The trial lasted until October 16, 2000. The two women received $ 100,000 each in a settlement, with no admission of guilt.

After several clergymen were sentenced, the diocese opened up to police investigations in 2002, gave the police full access to all records and publicly participated in the investigation. The story of some of the victims was processed in literature. A task force investigated the allegations against the diocese. On July 21, 2005, Sylvestre was finally arrested. At this point he was 82 years old and had advanced dementia . The allegations included abuse and rape of children under the age of 14. The youngest victim was 7 years old at the beginning. Lou Ann Soontiens became pregnant at the age of 14 after seven years of abuse. An abortion was organized in The only visitor was Sylvestre. She received $ 1.75 million Canadian dollars for her suffering in May 2009. This was the highest sum ever paid to a victim of abuse in Canada.

In August 2006, Charles Sylvestre pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 47 girls between 1954 and 1984. On October 6, 2006, he was sentenced to three years in prison. He died naturally at the age of 84 three months later in Kingston Penitentiary Prison Hospital on January 22, 2007. Since then, 13 more cases have become known.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sebastian Gehrmann: Catholic Church. List of violence. In: Frankfurter Rundschau online, February 2, 2010 ( online ( memento of March 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ))
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h The Good Father - Timeline. In: CBC News. September 19, 2011, accessed November 12, 2018 .
  3. ^ Peter Lauwers: Our understanding of the facts of Father Charles Sylvestre's appointment history. ( online )
  4. ^ Mary Ann Mulhern: When Angels Weep. Black Moss Pr, 2008, ISBN 9780887534454
  5. ^ Church scandal's next wave: Abused girls | The Star . In: thestar.com . ( thestar.com [accessed November 13, 2018]).
  6. ↑ a b Sex abuse victim wins settlement. Woman raped by priest to get largest award ever in Canada, lawyers say. May 8, 2009 ( online )
  7. ↑ The Inquiry ( Memento from August 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ London, Ont., Diocese Settles with Sex Abuse Victim. In: CBC , September 11, 2009 ( online )
  9. ↑ Abuse Victim Wins Huge Settlement From Canadian Diocese | Beckett. Accessed November 13, 2018 .
  10. ↑ bishop-accountability.org ( online )
  11. ^ Victim of Charles Sylvestre of Chatham Chases Justice | Beckett. Accessed November 13, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Sylvestre, Charles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian priest
DATE OF BIRTH September 2, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Joachim , Ontario
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 2007
Place of death Kingston Penitentiary, Kingston, Ontario