A West Island man is going to prison for sexually molesting little girls over five years ago at the Dollard-des-Ormeaux daycare operated by his late wife.

William Parsons, 72, showed little emotion as he was led into the prisoner's dock following sentencing. His son and granddaughter looked on, as did the victims' parents who were sporting broad smiles in the courtroom.

"Oh. I'm so happy, three years, finally," said the father of one of the three victims who were aged three to five at the time in 2007and 2008.

He said Parsons is getting his just desserts, no matter his age or poor state of health. Judge Gilles Cadieux said these were not justified factors in the three year sentence, calling them odious crimes and saying the sentence has to dissuade Parsons and others from doing similar things.

"You do the time, you do the crime, there's no age limit.""

Cadieux factored in several aggravating factors: that the crimes were not isolated, the young age of the victims, the psychological and physical trauma they went through, Parsons' lack of remorse and empathy, his abuse of authority concerning the children and and his abuse of trust of the parents, his wife and society.

When Parsons gets out of prison, he won't be allowed in the presence of minors, either on the job or in public places such as parks and schoolgrounds. His name goes into the sex offenders registry for 20 years.

Parsons is still appealing the verdict.

Photo: La Presse