A retired Anglican priest who served an aboriginal community southwest of London for several years has pleaded guilty to a sex offence involving a boy under the age of 14.
David Norton, 71, entered his guilty plea on one count of sexual interference at the London courthouse on Wednesday. The charge dates back to January 1991 and December 1995. However, the specifics of the case will not be heard until Norton's next court appearance on March 7.
"At that time, the facts that make out the plea will be put on the record. Then the matter will be going over for a presentence report and the sentencing hearing from there," said Defence Lawyer Perrie Douglas.
Norton was charged in November 2015 and March 2016 with seven counts of indecent assault, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of sexual interference involving three indigenous boys from 1977 to 1995. When the charges were laid it was alleged the abuse occurred in Norton’s home in London.
While Norton pleaded guilty to sexual interference in relation to one of his three accusers, the remaining charges will be heard at a separate trial that will begin April 16.
Norton served as a priest at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church on the Chippewa of the Thames First Nation in 1977 and retired from the Anglican Diocese of Huron in 2011. He also was an award-winning professor at King’s University College at Western University, specializing in First Nations history.