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	One Victim's Story 'Keep Your Eyes Closed,' He Told Her By Jane Sims London Free Press [Canada] October 7, 2006 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2006/10/07/1970972-sun.html Chatham -- All she wanted was his approval. All she wanted was to be confirmed in the Roman Catholic church. Instead, she became another bit of young prey to Rev. Charles Sylvestre. It changed her life forever. Yesterday, Chatham-Kent Crown attorney Paul Bailey told her story -- along with those of many other victims -- before the retired priest was sentenced to three years in prison. Using her story as his example, Bailey said during his sentencing submission to Ontario Court Justice Bruce Thomas that her experience reflects the pain and betrayal of the little girls violated by the priest. "If you are to understand the gravity of harm caused, you must take the time to truly understand the pain of the victim," he said. As Bailey described what happened to her, there were sobs across the courtroom. The woman, her identity protected by court order, is now in her 40s. But when she attended St. Ursula's parish church in Chatham, she was a trusting girl whose innocence was lost in the most deceiving way at the hands of the priest. In Grade 7 or 8 at the time, she was called to his office during school hours. He locked the door behind her and asked if she thought she was worthy enough to be confirmed. She hadn't been to church regularly because her parents worked most weekends. Sylvestre told her she was "a bad girl." He could tell, he added, by looking at her. Sylvestre told her to stand up and come toward him. He put his hand on her shirt and said he could tell if she let boys touch her. Then, his hands moved under her shirt. He asked if boys ever did that to her. She said no. The priest did not believe her. He told her to take off her panties. Then he moved her hands up her plaid skirt. She closed her eyes. "That's right," he said. "Keep your eyes closed." He said it was her fault and she was bad. He told her to be quiet "or I would be in trouble." "I heard him say 'yes, I was ready,' "she remembered. He laid her down and climbed on top of her. She recalled feeling "sharp, stabbing pain." He told her to stay quiet repeatedly. "Everything went numb," she said. She could hear him in her ear saying, " 'This is your fault. You are a very bad girl and God doesn't like you.' " Her eyes were squeezed shut. She couldn't move her arms to cover her ears. When it was over, he ordered her to put her underwear back on. He sat in his chair and told her she was a bad person. "and if I ever told anyone, God would hate me and my family." He said he wouldn't confirm her -- handle her coming-of-age ceremony in the church -- because it was her fault. He ordered her back to class. Later, she found blood on her skirt and underwear. She told a nun she wasn't feeling well. She called home but her mother didn't answer. She pretended she was there and walked home alone. She hid her plaid skirt and washed her panties. She took a bath and went to bed. "I believe he is a sick man that has a disease," she said in a victim impact statement she read to the other victims last month. "I am sure God will take care of Charles Sylvestre for what he has done."
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