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	Lambton Opp Charges Former RC Priest with Sexual Assault Petrolia Topic April 20, 2011 http://www.petroliatopic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3088253 Lambton OPP has arrested and charged a former Catholic priest who served in Wallaceburg with three counts of sexual assault. The offences are alleged to have occurred in the early 1980s. In February of 2011, Lambton OPP began an investigation into allegations of sexual assault on a woman that were committed while she was a teenager in the early 1980s. On April 8, the accused was arrested without incident when he turned himself in to OPP at the Petrolia detachment. Gabriele DelBianco, 54, of Auburn, Ont., will appear in Sarnia court on May 16 to answer the charges. DelBianco was ordained in 1982 and left the priesthood in 1996, after allegations of abuse surfaced. The Diocese of London said DelBianco was ordained in 1982. He worked at churches in Wallaceburg (1981-1984), Windsor and Tecumseh, and served as a chaplain at high schools in Windsor and Tecumseh. According to a statement issued by the diocese, allegations against DelBianco came to light in 1994. At that time, he left active ministry, and quit the priesthood two years later. Officials with the diocese said they were aware of three sexual assault charges laid against DelBianco by Lambton OPP for incidents that occurred between 1983 and 1986. The diocese has received claims from six women regarding sexual misconduct that allegedly occurred while they were minors with DelBianco. A seventh woman, from Windsor, has now come forward with claims of sexual abuse by DelBianco in Wallaceburg and Windsor, Ont. during the early 1980s. A statement on the diocese's Web site said it apologizes to the victims, and has offered to pay for counselling. "We are sorry for all of the hurt these and other victims have experienced. We are committed to living up to our responsibilities and obligations to victims of sexual misconduct in the search for justice and truth," read the Web site statement.
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