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	Retired Canadian Priest Who Pleaded Guilty to Numerous Sexual Assaults Dies Associated Press, carried in International Herald Tribune [Canada] January 23, 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/23/america/NA-GEN-Canada-Obit-Priest-Sex-Assault.php London, Ontario: A retired Canadian priest who recently pleaded guilty to decades of sexual abuse has died at the age of 84, his diocese said Tuesday. A statement posted by the southwestern Ontario Roman Catholic Diocese of London on its Web site said Father Charles Sylvestre died at midnight Monday. He had been ill for several days. Sylvestre pleaded guilty in August to assaulting 47 girls over three decades while serving at parishes in Chatham, Paincourt, Sarnia, London and Windsor. He was sentenced to three years in prison in October. "The reality is that a three-year sentence was laughable," said one of Sylvestre's victims, Irene Deschenes of London, Ontario. "It was far too short for the crimes he committed." he Diocese of London is facing 41 lawsuits stemming from the sexual abuse, and Deschenes said similar abuse cannot be prevented if cases like this one are ignored. "My hope is that this issue doesn't die with him," she said. In a statement on its Web site, the diocese said it continues "to feel grief and shock at the revelations of his actions and we say again that we deplore all instances of sexual abuse and sexual impropriety, especially by clergy or anyone in the Church's employ, toward minors." The statement said London Bishop Ronald Peter Fabbro has directed all parishes to offer special prayers for the victims of abuse by Sylvestre. "And we ask for prayers for the family of Father Sylvestre and for the repose of his soul," the statement said. Funeral arrangements have not yet been completed. The diocese says it expects it will be a private ceremony.
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