A retired minister who was convicted of multiple historical sex offences has been sentenced to four years in prison.
George Ferris, 66, was first charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation in 2011, in connection with a series of incidents from the 1980s, while he was ministering at St. James Anglican Church in Paris.
A second charge of sexual assault was laid at a later date, with Ferris pleading not guilty to all three offences. He was found guilty on all counts last November.
Before his sentence was delivered Tuesday in a Brantford court, Ferris apologized to the court and to his victim, Christopher Morrison.
“I want to extend my apologies to the court, Mr. Morrison and his family for the hurt I’ve cuased and to my wife, family and the church that I served,” he said.
Ferris then sat with his head down and eyes closed as the sentence was read.
Court heard that Ferris sexually assaulted Morrison multiple times over a six-year period and told him to keep quiet about the events.
Earlier in the afternoon, Morrison – now 42 – told court that for a long time he felt “shame and guilt” over the events and refused to report them to police, believing he was a “dysfunctional nobody going up against a respected member of the community” in Ferris.
Outside of his years in Paris, Ferris spent time at churches in Waterloo, Walkerton, Six Nations and Cambridge.
In another case, Ferris has been convicted of four sex offences involving three other alleged male victims in the 1980s.
Sentencing in that case is expected Wednesday.
