One of the first priests charged in connection with the Roman Catholic sex-abuse scandal in the 1980s has died.

In 1988 Father John Corrigan pleaded guilty to five charges of gross indecency and two counts of sexual assault on boys between the ages of 10 and 13.

Eight other charges originally filed against the priest were dropped. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

The majority of the offences occurred between 1977 and 1986 when Corrigan was a parish priest in Pouch Cove.

John Corrigan, seen here in an archival photo, was sentenced to five years in prison in the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandal in the 1980s. (CBC file photo)

He died Thursday at St. Patrick's Mercy Home at the age of 86. A source has told CBC News that the family is not planning a formal funeral.

Corrigan's guilty plea came just months after Father Jim Hickey was convicted on similar charges. It also set in motion an investigation that resulted in dozens of charges being laid against the Christian Brothers order at Mount Cashel Orphanage.

That investigation led to a commission of inquiry and, later, a multimillion dollar settlement with dozens of victims.