SJC Approves Disbarment of Lawyer

The state Supreme Judicial Court has approved the disbarring of a Gardner lawyer who was convicted of rape and other charges in 2005.

Gary R. LeBlanc, 56, of 20 Cross St., Gardner, has been disbarred from practicing law in Massachusetts, retroactive to Jan. 9, 2006, the date of his temporary suspension.

On Oct. 20, 2005, Mr. LeBlanc was convicted in Worcester Superior Court of two counts of rape, indecent assault on a person 14 or over, distribution of cocaine, providing alcohol to a minor and a drug violation in a school zone, after a trial in Worcester Superior Court. He was also convicted of drugging for purposes of sexual intercourse.

Mr. LeBlanc was sentenced to state prison and required to register as a sex offender. After these convictions, Mr. LeBlanc was temporarily suspended from practicing law. He is still incarcerated.

On Feb. 3, 2009, the state Appeals Court reversed the conviction for administering drugs for sexual intercourse, but affirmed the remaining convictions. Bar counsel filed a petition for discipline on Feb. 4, 2009. Proceedings were deferred while the criminal case was further appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld all of the convictions except for drugging for purposes of sexual intercourse.

Mr. LeBlanc had been charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old Gardner High School senior on Feb. 2, 2004, after giving her cocaine and alcohol in his Gardner home. The decision says Mr. LeBlanc and the young woman knew each other through friends and family. She was 12 when she first met the lawyer.

On May 18, Mr. LeBlanc submitted an affidavit of resignation in which he maintained his innocence, but admitted that he had been convicted of the offenses charged in the petition for discipline and that the convictions established violations. On June 14, the Board of Bar Overseers voted to recommend to the Supreme Judicial Court that the affidavit of resignation be accepted and an order of disbarment be issued. The disbarment order was accepted on June 30.

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SJC Approves Disbarment of Lawyer