Judge declares former priest David Norton guilty in sex abuse case
Norton has been found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault
Former Anglican priest David Norton has been found guilty in his trial for sexual abuse against four boys from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation.
The abuse against the boys, who are now middle-aged men, stretched back to the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Members from the Chippewas community filled the courtroom Tuesday morning as Justice Lynda Templeton delivered her decision.
Norton, 72, was charged with four counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault.
In the case of the first complainant, Norton was acquitted of the charge of indecent assault, but found guilty of sexual assault. He was found guilty of indecent assault in the cases of the other three complainants.
Norton showed zero emotion throughout the judge’s verdict. Looked down or stared straight ahead as she found him not credible and guilty of sexually abusing these four boys from Chippewa, boys who saw him as a father figure and friend.
—@KateDubinskiDuring the judge's decision, she said, "I do not believe Mr. Norton's evidence. It simply did not ring true."
She added the children were intentionally removed from their homes and peer groups so he could be alone with them.
Witness testimony
Last week, four men testified about being sexually abused by Norton.
The men, all residents of the First Nations community of Chippewas of the Thames, said Norton began by showing them attention and affection when they were prepubescent boys, taking them to movies and parks and playing records for them in his downtown London apartment.
The witnesses testified that during sleep overs at Norton's place, the visits took a sinister turn.
Descriptions of the abuse given by witnesses included being fondled while sitting in Norton's lap at the wheel of his car and waking up with a sticky substance rubbed on their bodies that they would only years later understand to be semen.
During Norton's testimony, he denied the abuse, and told the court his physical contact with the boys was limited to hugs.
Norton has already pleaded guilty to sexual interference for a separate conviction. He's serving four years in jail for that crime.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 25, 2019.