A retired Roman Catholic priest convicted of sex-related offences involving boys in New Brunswick was back in court Wednesday to face new charges.
Levi Noel, who worked on the province’s Acadian Peninsula for 30 years, appeared before a judge in Tracadie-Sheila to hear two new charges laid against him by Crown prosecutors — one count of committing an indecent act and one count of gross indecency.
Noel was expressionless as he was led into the courtroom and stared straight ahead as Justice Donald LeBlanc conducted the hearing.
Few details about the charges were revealed Wednesday. But the alleged offences involve a male victim in 1975 in the Tracadie region.
Serge Robichaud, currently Noel’s legal aid lawyer, said his client will appear in court again at the beginning of June.
“Mr. Noel is going to appear on that court date and advise the judge if he did, first of all, retain council. And if so, advise the judge what he wants to do with these charges here,” he said.
Last year, Noel was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 22 other sex-related offences involving boys. All were related to incidents that occurred between 1958 and 1981, while Noel was a priest in northeastern New Brunswick.
The victims were boys between the ages of eight and 16 at the time of the abuse, the court heard at the time. Noel will be back in court on June 22 to enter a plea on the most recent charges.