When 10-year-old Carolyn Jewell arrived at Mount St. Joseph School in 1956, she was used to being
the new kid. As an “army brat” she moved around constantly, finding it tough to form lasting
friendships. It looked like things would be the same in her new home of London, Ontario, until
she met the priest from the nearby college. Father Sylvestre was brought into her class, and
introduced as a visiting priest. He appeared to be a nice person and Carolyn had been taught that
you should love your priest. But this "nice person" would return that love with a cruel abuse
of power.
Father Sylvestre would victimize dozens of young girls over the next four decades. Unable to
forget the abuse they had suffered as children at the hands of the priest they had known as
"Father Feeler" – several women finally banded together and turned to the police. By the time
the case reached the courtroom, an aging and apparently remorseless Father Sylvestre faced 47
charges of sexual assault and rape.
