Former Canadian Catholic priest sentenced to 6 years in prison for child sex abuse

TRENTON, Canada

A former Roman Catholic priest was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for sexually abusing seven children more than 40 years ago.

Eric Dejaeger abused six girls and one boy, ages 4 through 9, in the small hamlet of Igloolik, Nunavut, with a population of 2,000, in Canada’s Far North. The assaults took place between 1978 and 1982.

It marked the fifth time Dejaeger has been convicted and sentenced for the abuse of dozens of children in the Canadian territory of Nunavut and Alberta.

“He destroyed their childhood, hurt their relations with their families and ruined their relationship with their church,” said Justice Faiyaz Alibhai, Global News reported.

Five victims testified during the trial as to the repercussions of the priest’s abuse.

“The trauma reverberated to the next generation, as the children of his victims also suffered from the consequences of his actions,” said the judge. “Virtually all of the victims advised that the offenses destroyed their relationship with the Catholic Church, marginalized them, made it difficult for them to communicate with their loved ones, to engage in physical intimacy or to be close to their children.”

Dejaeger, 77, addressed the court before his sentencing and said he was sorry for the devastation caused by his actions.

“I would like to ask for forgiveness for the cruel things I have done,” he said. “I am a changed person. And all the time I have been in prison – I have had a lot of time to think. And also the last 40 years, I have not reoffended.”