Retired Minister from Cambridge Found Guilty of Sexual Offences

The Record
November 19, 2013

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4225058-retired-minister-found-guilty-of-sexual-offences/

Rev. George Ferris has been found guilty of sexual exploitation.

A retired Anglican priest from Cambridge was found guilty Tuesday of sex offences dating back almost 30 years.

Rev. George Ferris, 66, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation in connection with offences that took place in Brant County between 1983 and 1989, when he served at St. James' Anglican Church in Paris, Ont.

Ferris also faces three other charges of sexual assault against three other complainants, in a second trial scheduled to go ahead in Brantford on Nov. 28.

Ferris's conviction on Tuesday followed a two-day trial in October in Ontario Court in Brantford. A 42-year-old witness testified he was molested by Ferris, who was his priest, as a teenager over several years, in a situation that escalated from embraces to oral sex and two instances of actual and attempted anal sex, the Brantford Expositor reports. The court was also told the witness asked Ferris for "hush" money in 2006, and received $5,000 deposited in his bank account.

The defence called no evidence.

According to the Expositor, Justice Kevin Sherwood said Tuesday he found the complainant's evidence forthright, direct and candid.

"I accept his evidence as truthful," Sherwood said.

Sherwood said he found no evidence the complainant had consented to any of the sexual contact with Ferris. The judge said Ferris had been in a position of authority over the complainant because of his position as a minister and the respect with which the complainant viewed him.

Ferris served at St. James' Anglican Church on Ellis Road in Cambridge for about nine years until his retirement at the end of December 2010. He served as interim priest at St. James' Anglican Church in Ingersoll in 2011.

Ordained in 1971, Ferris has served a number of parishes, including the Six Nations, Walkerton and at St. James' Anglican Church in Paris, Ont.

He also spent about 10 years at Renison University College in Waterloo, where his roles included director of alumni and development, director of residences and chaplain.

Ferris is married and has three children. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Brantford on Jan. 28, 2014.

Contact: cthompson@therecord.com