Priest Receives One Year In Prison For Stealing From Church To Pay Of Gambling Debts

A priest in Ottawa was sentenced to a year in prison, after admitting to stealing $130,000 from the church to fund his gambling addiction, according to CTVNews.

An investigation launched in October 2011 eventually resulted in this week’s sentence. Father Joe LeClair was accused of writing checks to himself and stealing from offering plates. Another $400,000 in bank deposits reportedly is still unaccounted for. LeClair admitted to the $130,000.

The one-year sentence reportedly surprised many people, but not the lawyer.

“I understand what compelled the judge to do what he did,” LeClair’s lawyer, Matthew Webber, told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday. “I’m unhappy, but that’s the nature of the offence and to be frank, in law, it’s an appropriate sentence.”

In a January apology, LeClair said: “My addictions to alcohol and gambling contributed to my thoughtless and irrational behavior.”

LeClair reportedly gambled at Casino Lac Leamy, which is a government run casino in Gatineau, Quebec. It has more than 1,800 slots and more than 60 table games.