The Sarnia Observer
Monday, February 24, 2014 2:55:50 EST PM
By Neil Bowen, Sarnia Observer
Sarnia court
SARNIA - Former Catholic priest Gabriele DelBianco, 57, was convicted Monday on three of 18 charges related to sexual misconduct involving four teenage girls.
Sentencing has been set for May 14.
A pre-sentence report was ordered and DelBianco remains out of custody.
The convictions relate to two of the women, now in their 40s.
The key issues are possible consent to sexual activity and the reliability of the evidence.
DelBianco pleaded not guilty to 16 offences involving four teenage girls during the 1980s.
A one-week Superior Court trial commenced Oct. 16 and included testimony from four women, now in their 40s. DelBianco chose not to testify.
The number of charges was increased to 18 to match with testimony from the four women regarding the offence dates. No further allegations were contained in the new charges.
One woman described that as a teenager she felt the outgoing and popular priest was like a rock star.
Several of the women testified that they had sexual encounters with DelBianco, one saying she believed her teenage sexual encounters with him would lead to them becoming a couple.
One of the women who testified said she had no conscious memory of any sexual abuse. The therapy occurred after she learned of a lawsuit against DelBianco and the Catholic Church by other women.
That therapy was paid for by the Catholic Church, she said.
Her memories continued to get clearer, she said, after her initial statement to the OPP in 2011 when she recalled details of one incident.
Another of the four women testified DelBianco had helped pay for a Florida trip with her family.
Several of the women said he made them feel special as teenagers because he chose to spend time with them alone.
Two of the women testified that he had claimed to be involved with the CIA. One woman testified that DelBianco started a romantic relationship with her when she was 15 or 16 and when he was a 29-year-old priest
She said he fondled her in his car, but they did not have sex until she was 20.
By the time she was 21, she and DelBianco had become a secret couple, she said, noting she stayed at his church residence three to five times weekly.
She testified that the former priest fathered her child.
In the mid-1990s the woman ended all contact with DelBianco through a legal agreement for a one-time $10,000 child-support payment.
DelBianco left the priesthood in 1996 after serving at churches in Wallaceburg and Windsor.
____________________________________
Gabriele DelBianco found guilty on three of 18 sexual assault charges
London Free Press
24 February 2014
By Neil Bowen, Sarnia Observer
SARNIA - Former Catholic priest Gabriele DelBianco, 57, was convicted Monday on three of 18 charges related to sexual misconduct involving four teenage girls.
Sentencing has been set for May 14.
A pre-sentence report was ordered and DelBianco remains out of custody.
The convictions relate to two of the women, now in their 40s.
The key issues are possible consent to sexual activity and the reliability of the evidence.
DelBianco pleaded not guilty to 16 offences involving four teenage girls during the 1980s.
A one-week Superior Court trial commenced Oct. 16 and included testimony from four women, now in their 40s. DelBianco chose not to testify.
The number of charges was increased to 18 to match with testimony from the four women regarding the offence dates. No further allegations were contained in the new charges.
One woman described that as a teenager she felt the outgoing and popular priest was like a rock star.
Several of the women testified that they had sexual encounters with DelBianco, one saying she believed her teenage sexual encounters with him would lead to them becoming a couple.
One of the women who testified said she had no conscious memory of any sexual abuse. The therapy occurred after she learned of a lawsuit against DelBianco and the Catholic Church by other women.
That therapy was paid for by the Catholic Church, she said.
Her memories continued to get clearer, she said, after her initial statement to the OPP in 2011 when she recalled details of one incident.
Another of the four women testified DelBianco had helped pay for a Florida trip with her family.
Several of the women said he made them feel special as teenagers because he chose to spend time with them alone.
Two of the women testified that he had claimed to be involved with the CIA. One woman testified that DelBianco started a romantic relationship with her when she was 15 or 16 and when he was a 29-year-old priest
She said he fondled her in his car, but they did not have sex until she was 20.
By the time she was 21, she and DelBianco had become a secret couple, she said, noting she stayed at his church residence three to five times weekly.
She testified that the former priest fathered her child.
In the mid-1990s the woman ended all contact with DelBianco through a legal agreement for a one-time $10,000 child-support payment.
DelBianco left the priesthood in 1996 after serving at churches in Wallaceburg and Windsor.