VANCOUVER (CANADA)
Burnaby Now [Vancouver, BC, Canada]
August 1, 2024
By Cornelia Naylor
Paul Blancard was charged last September with sexual abuse between May 1967 and October 1970, while he was an assistant pastor at St. Helen’s Parish.
An 84-year-old man has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse during his time as a Catholic priest in Burnaby 57 years ago.
Paul J. Blancard appeared remotely in a Vancouver court Thursday from his home in London, Ont.
He entered a guilty plea to one count of “indecent assault” on a female in Burnaby between May 1, 1967 and Oct. 15, 1970.
The Archdiocese of Vancouver has confirmed Blancard, who was then in his late 20s, was an assistant pastor at St. Helen’s Parish during that time.
The victim’s name is protected by a publication ban.
The police investigation that led to the charge was launched in 2016, but Burnaby RCMP declined to provide further information on the case, including the age of the victim or why it took until September 2023 for the charge to be approved.
“As the file is before the courts and is also subject to a publication ban we are unable to share any information at this time,” read an emailed Burnaby RCMP statement earlier this year.
This isn’t the first time Blancard has been charged with indecent assault (a term used for sexual assault before changes to the Criminal Code in the 1980s).
In 1992, he pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting five girls aged six to 10 during his time as a priest in Burnaby and on Vancouver Island between 1967 and 1980.
Blancard left the priesthood in 1988, according to news articles on those court cases.
His next court appearance on the Burnaby charge is scheduled for Oct. 10 to confirm the completion of a pre-sentence report.
A date should then be set for Blancard’s sentencing.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
Email cnaylor@burnabynow.com