Father Joe LeClair sentenced to a year in jail

CBC News
March 19, 2014

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/father-joe-leclair-sentenced-to-a-year-in-jail-1.2577311

Father Joe LeClair was sentenced to a year in jail and a year's probation for fraud on Wednesday morning.

A popular Ottawa priest who stole $130,000 from his church will spend one year in jail for his crimes.

Father Joe LeClair, a diagnosed pathological gambler, pleaded guilty to defrauding Ottawa's Blessed Sacrament Church of the money over the course of five years.

He was sentenced to one year in jail and one year probation in an Ottawa courtroom on Wednesday morning, with Ontario Court Justice Jack Nadelle saying that breach of trust and the amount of money played into his decision.

Leclair and dozens of supporters got together in a courtroom for a private meeting after the sentencing was handed down, according to the CBC's Steve Fischer.

Crown prosecutor Peter Napier had argued at LeClair's sentencing hearing in January that the priest should spend 18 months in jail for his breach of trust.

But defence lawyer Matthew Webber argued LeClair was addicted to work, which fuelled heavy drinking that enabled his gambling. LeClair should serve his sentence in the community rather than jail, Webber argued.

LeClair was the kind of leader who drew people in, but his criminal confession has pulled parishioners apart, said Thea Boyd. She used to travel from Blossom Park in south Ottawa to the Glebe for church — specifically for LeClair.

"He just drew you in, and right away your faith was restored. He just had that charisma about him," she said.

"We still feel that. We could still repeat some of his homilies that he did. He would make you cry and then he would make you laugh."

Now that he's gone, Boyd said that she and other parishioners have been looking for another place to worship.

"We've called it church surfing. Looking for another church, looking for another priest that was as good as Father Joe," she said. 

Father Galen Bank, who came to Blessed Sacrament a year and a half ago said "there's no question" that attendance has fallen at the church since a fraud investigation was launched in 2011. But Bank said the church's finances and number of parishioners has been stable since he arrived.

The Archdiocese of Ottawa has promised to work with LeClair in his recovery. In a statement issued after his guilty plea, Archbishop of Ottawa Terrence Prendergast said that LeClair was "courageous" to admit his addiction.

"Aware of his many talents and his 25 years of effective pastoral ministry, we will work with Father LeClair in his desire to return to the exercise of his priestly ministry," the statement said.

The Archdiocese said Wednesday it would have no comment on the sentencing, referring the media back to that January statement.