A third sentencing date has been set for a P.E.I. Catholic priest, who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child in his St. Margaret's Parish in the late 1980s, after the first two hearings did not go ahead.
Brendon Earl Gallant, 80, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault last summer. The court heard the victim was 12-years-old when Gallant took an interest in the child and began inviting him for sleepovers, where he would give the boy alcohol and invite him to sleep in his bed.
On the day Gallant was scheduled to be sentenced in October, Gallant’s then-lawyer Peter Ghiz told the court his client wished to withdraw that admission of guilt and instead plead not guilty.
A hearing for the judge to decide if Gallant would be allowed to do that was scheduled for December, but it also did not go ahead.
The case was then called back in court March 18. But Gallant’s new lawyer, Chris Montigny, appeared without his client.
Montigny told the court Gallant was ready to be sentenced that day and arrived with all the medications that would be necessary for a period of incarceration, but then an ambulance had to be called for the 80-year-old.
“Unfortunately he became unwell. It was decided to call 911 out of an abundance of caution… so he’s at the hospital now,” Montigny told the court.
“This matter has taken a bit of a circuitous route here.”
Gallant to return to court in next month
Montigny told Judge Nancy Orr he and the Crown had agreed on a joint recommendation for a period in custody for Gallant, but Gallant needs to be in court himself to be sentenced.
Judges usually accept the length of incarceration agreed on by the Crown and defense unless they believe it is contrary to the public interest.
Gallant’s next day in court will be in early April, and in the meantime, his lawyer said he is not a flight risk.
“He’s 80 years of age, he’s not going to flee from this jurisdiction in any way,” Montigny said.
The victim in this case — now an adult — has already filed a victim impact statement.
The man brought the complaint to police in 2023, prompting a two year investigation before Gallant was charged last spring.
The Diocese of Charlottetown has apologized for Gallant’s action and said he was removed from active ministry as soon as he learned of the investigation.
During the course of his career, Gallant served as a priest in more than a dozen parishes across Prince Edward Island.
His postings included Catholic churches in Cardigan, Little Pond, St. Georges, Georgetown, Souris, Charlottetown, Glenwood, Brae, Alberton, Bloomfield, Foxley River, St. Charles and Burton.
He retired in 2018 after his final posting in Tignish.
If Gallant is sentenced to less than two years in jail, he’ll be able to serve that sentence on the Island. Any more time and he’ll go off Island to a federal penitentiary.