Former SW Ontario priest gets 4 years on sex charges involving 2 teen girls

Brandon Sun
May 14, 2014

http://www.brandonsun.com/lifestyles/breaking-news/former-sw-ontario-priest-gets-4-years-on-sex-charges-involving-2-teen-girls-259270891.html?thx=y

SARNIA, Ont. - A former Catholic priest is headed to prison for sex-related crimes against two teenage girls.

Justice Joseph Donohue sentenced Gabriele DelBianco, 57, to a total of four years in prison on Wednesday in Sarnia, Ont.

DelBianco was found guilty in February of three of 18 charges against him relating to incidents involving four teenage girls during the 1980s in southwestern Ontario.

He received three years on each of two sexual assault charges to be served concurrently and a further 12 months for gross indecency.

DelBianco left the priesthood in 1996 after serving at churches in Ontario communities including Wallaceburg and Windsor.

He later worked as a private marriage and family counsellor based in Auburn and Kincardine.

One of the complainants said following sentencing that the click of the handcuffs was one of the sweetest sounds she's heard in a long time.

"I think we got four years, because we got a year for each one of us," she said.

"The impact on my parents has been the hardest thing to watch. This process has really aged them and hurt them, my kids, my husband and taken years off of my life," she added.

"I regret deeply the hurts that I've caused. I hope that this trial will bring closure and I apologize," DelBianco told the court.