CANADA
Metro News
By Staff Yarmouth Vanguard
Emotions were high inside a Nova Scotia courtroom Monday as a former Yarmouth priest entered guilty pleas to six counts of indecent assault, some dating back to the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The family and friends of the six victims – all grown men who were just young boys when the crimes were committed – applauded inside the Yarmouth courtroom as they heard the guilty pleas against Albert LeBlanc, displaying relief that a trial would not go ahead and that the accused will be punished for his actions.
“He is aware of the potential penalties, potential sentences. He is also aware that pleading guilty is an admission of every element of the infractions alleged by the Crown,” said LeBlanc’s defence lawyer J. Gilles Lemieux outside of court.
LeBlanc, an 83-year-old from Bouctouche, N.B, left the priesthood in Yarmouth in 1973. Afterwards he worked as a caseworker with Family and Children Services and then as a probation officer.
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