Former Saanich Priest to Be Sentenced in July

By Kyle Slavin
Victoria News
May 29, 2013

http://www.vicnews.com/news/209430871.html

The former Saanich priest who was found guilty earlier this year of touching a young person for a sexual purpose will learn his fate in July.

A date for Phil Jacobs' final court appearance was set Wednesday. He will appear in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria for sentencing on July 19.

Justice Miriam Gropper handed down her guilty verdict on Feb. 25.

The guilty charge stems from a witness testimony regarding tutoring sessions at Jacobs’ house on the grounds of St. Joseph the Worker Parish on Burnside Road West. The witness said he ended up in a position of laying on the couch with his legs over Jacobs’ lap.

During testimony in December, the young man told the court that Jacobs’ right hand would slide up and down the witness’s left thigh over his pants – “he went from my knee to my groin back and forth ... the back of his hand touched my genitals.”

Gropper agreed with the Crown’s assertion that Jacobs’ touching of the victim’s genitals was “deliberate,” and not accidental brushing.

The court ordered a psychiatric risk assessment on Jacobs, which must be complete before sentencing.

Jacobs was a priest at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in from 1997 to 2002.

He could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years for the guilty count.

– with files from Edward Hill

Contact: kslavin@saanichnews.com