Providence Journal photo / Kathy Borchers
Deacon Laurence Gagnon, formerly of St. Joseph Catholic School in West Warwick, is being lead away by sheriffs in Warwick Tuesday at the Kent County Courthouse.
WARWICK, R.I. -- A former deacon of a West Warwick church began serving a year behind bars Tuesday for molesting three students at St. Joseph Catholic School.
Sheriffs led Laurence Gagnon, 72, of Warwick, away in handcuffs. Earlier this month Gagnon admitted to molesting three boys under age 14 during the 2010-2011 school year, the attorney general's office said. At the time, he worked as a teacher at the school and served as deacon at St. Joseph Parish.
He was ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and register as a sex offender. He was ordered not to contact the victims or children. He is forbidden from loitering in areas where children congregate.
Gagnon was arrested in August 2011 after police received a complaint that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a child.