An Ontario Court has sentenced a retired priest to 12-months of house arrest for child abuse

An Ontario Court has sentenced a retired priest to 12-months of house arrest for child abuse. On 1 March 2016 Justice Gerri Wong sentenced the Rev. Harry Brydon (66) after he pled guilty last month to three counts of having administered a noxious substance to three teenaged boys and then sexually assaulting them. The crimes took place between 1984 and 1988 while Brydon served as rector of St Paul’s Anglican Church in Chatham, Ontario. Following Brydon’s arrest in December 2014 a spokesman for the Diocese of Huron, the Rev. Keith Nethery told local newspapers “Harry Brydon has not held any licence or position for many years,” adding the diocese was not involved in his defence nor had police contacted them during their investigation. Brydon’s attorney told the court his client expressed remorse for his crimes, but the accused declined to speak to the court on his own behalf. The Crown prosecutor read into the record three victim’s impact statements, noting two of the boys had been molested while Brydon was preparing them for confirmation. “You made religion and the church – the devil,” said one victims in his statement to the court. Brydon, who is wheelchair bound, will serve his sentence of confinement at his home.