Ont. law firm seeks information on convicted Catholic priest amid active abuse lawsuit

An Ontario law firm is seeking information about the movements and activities of a Catholic priest who was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy before he died.

Father Leo Charron was a parish priest in the Emeryville area from 1957 to 1958, in Windsor from 1959 to the mid-1960s and in the Pain Court and Stoney Point areas thereafter.

According to media reports, Charron was convicted in 1993 of indecent assault and gross indecency involving a 12-year-old boy and was sent to jail for four months.

"There's a level of difficulty when you're dealing with historical matters decades ago, finding people, tracking down information and memories," said lawyer Rob Talach.

The request for information was put out on social media by Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers – based in London, Ont.

According to the firm, a current lawsuit alleging further abuse during Charron's time in Stoney Point in the 1980s remains active.

"We're just looking to further corroborate that case," said Talach.

"In dealing with a Father Charron case, it always strikes me just how prolific an abuser he was, which also leads to the conclusion there may be others out there suffering in silence."

According to the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), multiple lawsuits have been filed and settled in relation to Father Charron.

He died in 1998 at the age of 81.

"Often, when there's one victim, there's other victims," said Gemma Hickey, board president for the non-profit Ending Clergy Abuse.

"Moving priests around, shifting them around from one place to the next is a move from the Catholic Church's playbook. It's happened all over the world – and it's wrong."

Efforts to break that cycle are underway in Rome, home of the Vatican Church, where Hickey is leading an international push for change.

Hickey, based in Newfoundland, is calling on the Catholic Church to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to clergy abuse.

The group is demanding policies that permanently remove any priest or deacon found guilty of sexual abuse from ministry.

"The system isn't really aligned with making us feel supported enough to come forward. It's not very trauma informed," said Hickey.

In a statement, the Diocese of London said it does not comment on ongoing lawsuits. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to its Code of Conduct which was revised in April 2023.

It sets strict guidelines protecting minors and vulnerable adults, such as requiring more than one adult to be present during activities, segregating dressing areas by age group and prohibiting one-on-one interactions in unsupervised settings.