The Tribunal des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse awarded $55,300 to an elderly, disabled man who suffered financial, physical and psychological abuse from 2014 to 2017. The defendant, Michel Saint-Pierre, was also fined a sentence to be served in the community for the criminal part of the case.
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The victim, identified by the initials M.C., is a 69-year-old man in the spring of 2014. He is deaf and mute, and suffers from numerous health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular difficulties, visual disturbances, leg edema , balance problems, diabetes and high blood pressure.
During the period covered by the judgment of March 29, Mr. C. lived with Michel Saint-Pierre, also deaf and dumb, who rented him a room. “M. C. depends greatly on Mr. Saint-Pierre for his basic needs,” it reads, including housekeeping and transportation.
However, the Tribunal concludes that Mr. Saint-Pierre “took advantage of his position of power towards Mr. C. to engage in financial abuse against him”, in addition to physical and psychological abuse.
At the same time, Mr. Saint-Pierre pleaded guilty to charges of using forged documents in connection with the same story, which was also the subject of a criminal prosecution. He received an 18-month sentence to be served in the community on March 10, said a spokeswoman for the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
Mr. C. was hospitalized between 2014 and 2015 for pancreatic and sigmoid colon cancer. It was then that Mr. Saint-Pierre took control of his finances. “In addition to his bank card, Mr. Saint-Pierre holds his checkbook and his bank book and gives him pocket money for his minor expenses”, notes the judgment.
After returning home, Mr. Saint-Pierre retained control of Mr. C.’s affairs, even though he had no power of attorney to do so. And he didn’t just manage his tenant’s out-of-pocket expenses.
Thousands of dollars stolen
Mr. Saint-Pierre appropriated an indemnity of $38,300 intended for Mr. C. following a disability insurance claim due to his long stay in the hospital. He also tried to take – without success – a compensation of more than $100,000 to which Mr. C. was entitled. This stemmed from a class action suit concerning allegations of sexual abuse by the Clercs de Saint-Viateur.
The testimonies and notes of social workers who sounded the alarm after meeting Mr. C. also allow the Tribunal to conclude that he was the victim of physical and psychological abuse, despite the absence of direct evidence to this effect. Mr. C. told them in particular that he was afraid of Mr. Saint-Pierre and that the latter had hit him with his cane.
For all these reasons, Judge Luc Huppé ordered Mr. Saint-Pierre to pay his victim $38,300 in material damages, $12,000 in moral damages and $5,000 in punitive damages.