Norwich pastor pleads guilty to molesting girl

CONNECTICUT
The Day

Karen Florin
Former Haitian church leader Luckner Sylvain pleaded guilty in Superior Court Wednesday to molesting a 12-year-old girl multiple times while she lived with his family in 2006 in Norwich.

Sylvain, 49, will be sentenced in December to 2½ years in prison followed by 10 years of probation for risk of injury to a minor and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Sylvain pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, which indicates he does not agree with the state’s allegations but does not want to risk the possibility of a harsher sentence if convicted at trial.

Sylvain is co-founder of the Bethany Foundation, a group dedicated to raising funds to help Haitian children affected by the earthquake in January 2010. He was formerly affiliated with the First Haitian Baptist Church in Norwich.

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