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	Retired Ontario Priest Who Pleaded Guilty to Sex Assaults Dies at Age 84 Canadian Press January 23, 2007 http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=2d5f4b83-1eb9-4ba9-a805-b9e117b013d8&k=21133 London, Ont. (CP) - A former southwestern Ontario priest who recently pleaded guilty to decades of sexual abuse has died at the age of 84. A statement posted by the Diocese of London on its website says Father Charles Sylvestre died at midnight. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized. The diocese says it expects it will be a private ceremony. Sylvestre pleaded guilty in August to indecently assaulting 47 female victims 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 diocese statement says it continues to "feel grief and shock at the revelations of his (Sylvestre's) actions." It further states that it "deplores all instances of sexual abuse and sexual impropriety, especially by clergy or anyone in the Church's employ." Crown Attorney Paul Bailey, who prosecuted Sylvestre, says he was notified of the death at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. "My understanding is that he had been hospitalized for some days, and that his sister did get an opportunity to visit with him yesterday."
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