November 11, 1986
12.39 EST
National general news

Priest 

CORNWALL, Ont. (CP)
A Roman Catholic priest who had offered to help young men
with their sexual problems was sentenced to two years' probation
Monday after pleading guilty to four counts of gross indecency.

Under terms of probation, Rev. Gilles Deslauriers, 49, will
report to a probation officer and to Monsignor Adolphe Proulx,
bishop of Hull, Que. He will also be treated by a psychologist.

In sentencing, district court Judge Fernand Gratton noted
Proulx's offer to watch over Deslauriers "indicates a confidence
he has in the future of this person."

Police charged Deslauriers last July after complaints from a
Cornwall family prompted a two-month investigation. Originally,
Deslauriers faced eight counts of indecent assault and eight
counts of gross indecency in incidents alleged to have occurred
between 1978 and 1984 involving several youths.

Court was told Deslauriers, a chaplain at a local secondary
school, had offered help for sexual problems, saying he had a
degree in psychology and philosophy.

DROP CHARGES
 At a preliminary hearing in September, four counts of gross
indecency and one charge of indecent assault were dropped
because of insufficient evidence.
 
At Monday's pre-trial hearing, seven more counts of indecent
assault were dropped by Crown Attorney Rommel Masse, who
explained the charges were of a minor nature.

Deslauriers's defence lawyer Gilles Charlebois agreed the
actions by his client were "inexcusable," but he said the acts
were of a "clinical, not erotic" nature.

However, the judge said Deslauriers, as a Catholic priest, 
had "abused the trust" the young men and their parents placed in
him.
Gratton said the young men who came to Deslauriers "believed
it was correct because a priest said it was correct."

Masse asked for "short and sharp justice," including a three-
month jail sentence.

But the judge said a jail term "would add little in the way
of deterrence" in this case.

End of document.