A retired Anglican minister with connections to a number of southwestern Ontario communities was found guilty Tuesday in connection with three historical sex offences.
George Ferris was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation.
The charges related to a sexual relationship between Ferris and a then-teenage male while Ferris was ministering at St. James Anglican Church in Paris during the 1980s.
Ferris has also spent time at churches in Waterloo, Walkerton, Six Nations and Cambridge.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges, but did not testify in his own defence.
The case hinged on the testimony of the now-42-year-old victim, who said he didn’t feel he could say no to Ferris given his position as a minister.
Crown prosecutor George Orsini praised the victim for his “candid” testimony, while defence lawyer John Renwick argued the victim was a willing participant in the acts and there were inconsistencies in his testimony.
Sentencing is set for late January.
In another case, Ferris has pleaded not guilty to four sex offences involving three alleged male victims in the mid-1980s.
The judge’s verdict in that case is expected next week.
