B.C. church worker who sexually assaulted 11 boys and men over 4 decades sentenced to 6 years

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced former church counsellorRaymond Howard Gaglardito 6 years in jail for a string of historical sex assaults against young men andboys.

Gaglardi, who is now 78, was sentenced last month in a New Westminster courtroom on11counts ofsexual offences against 11 victims dating back to 1971,according to the court judgment.

Justice Paul Riley outlined how Gaglardi, overmore than 40 years, took advantage of hisposition of trustto exploit theyoung victims, who ranged inage from 10 to 30.

"Over many years, Mr.Gaglardi acted opportunistically by using his relationships with boys or men who were much younger and less mature than him to engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour."

Counsellor at 2 churches

The court heard how the assaults happened duringtwo time periods at two different Metro Vancouver churches.

From 1971 to 1981, Gaglardi was acounsellorat the Glad Tidings Temple in Vancouver. He was also thedirector of the church's sound and productions department and a teacherat Temple Academy.

The second period in which offences took place occurred between 1993 and 2015 when Gaglardi worked at the Hillside Community Church in Coquitlam, B.C., according to the judgment.

During this time, the judge said many of the victims were also Gaglardi's counselling, mentorshipand holistic natural health practice clients. All were male, between 15 and 30 years of age, while Gaglardi was much older.

"Mr.Gaglardi took advantage of a position of trust, exploited the vulnerability of the victim, and touched the victim in a sexual manner. Many of the victims suffered substantial and prolonged impacts as a result of Mr.Gaglardi's offending behaviour," Riley said.

Gaglardi's defence had argued for consecutive sentences totallingno more than 7 years.

He will serve his6 year sentencein a federal penitentiary and is to be registered under theSex Offender Information Registration Actfor a period of 20 years.