Retired Ontario Priest Convicted of Sex Assault on Teen Boy

Sun News
January 17, 2014

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/01/20140117-121636.html

KINGSTON, Ont. -- A local priest was convicted Friday of sexual assault involving a teenage boy 10 years ago.

Before a packed courtroom, Superior Court Justice Timothy Ray ruled Rene Paul Emile Labelle, 64, guilty of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching, following four days of testimony.

Labelle had pleaded not guilty on all counts and testified in his own defence on Wednesday, denying the allegations.

Labelle, who is now retired, surrendered his parish just prior to his arrest in January 2012, withdrawing as well from service as a priest-chaplain at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School under the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board system.

His sentencing is scheduled for April 4.