Priest Guilty of Sexual Assault

Ottawa Sun
January 17, 2014

http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/01/17/breaking-priest-guilty-of-sexual-assault

KINGSTON - A local priest was convicted Friday of sexual assault involving a teenage boy 10 years ago.

Before a packed courtroom, Superior Court Justice Timothy Ray ruled Rene Paul Emile Labelle, 64, guilty of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual exploitation, following four days of testimony.

Labelle had pleaded not guilty on all counts and, testified in his own defence on Wednesday, denying the allegations.

Labelle, who is now retired, surrendered his parish in the Brewers Mills area just prior to his arrest in January 2012, withdrawing as well from service as a priest-chaplain at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School under the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board system.

His sentencing is scheduled for April 4.

More to follow...