“What is the most profitable socially? According to a judge, it is not to harm the career of an educational researcher who has filmed for years the crotch of women and teenagers. Even though he still has “deviant sexual interests” towards young people and “hostility” towards women, Simon Lamarre has been granted a discharge.
“It is not in the public interest to neutralize the knowledge of the accused and to deprive oneself of fifteen years of study or university work”, ruled the judge Jean-Jacques Gagné, Monday, at the Montreal courthouse.
For three years, Simon Lamarre had fun filming the private parts of young women and teenagers at the swimming pool and in the metro. His crimes only ceased when tracking police caught him in the act at Villa Maria metro station. On the escalator, he subtly slipped his cell phone under the school uniform skirts of 14 or 15 year old girls.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LAPRESSE
Simon Lamarre (right)
At that time, the 40-year-old voyeur was teaching in 5e elementary year at Notre-Dame-de-Grâce school (he has since left his post) and was completing his doctorate in education. The researcher has also given thirty courses at the University of Montreal and the University of Sherbrooke in recent years.
A few weeks before pleading guilty to a voyeurism charge, last summer, Simon Lamarre even granted an interview to Press to present his research on the low presence of men in teaching. We were not aware of the charges at the time.
If he was looking for attention last summer, Monday in the corridor of the Montreal courthouse, Simon Lamarre instead hid his face with his coat to escape the media, even after having benefited from a lenient sentence. Judge Jean-Jacques Gagné indeed joined the defense by granting a conditional discharge to the accused, along with three years’ probation. Ultimately, he will be able to get rid of his criminal record.
Absolution in the “public interest”
“Should we encourage the accused in his convincing rehabilitation or increase his isolation through stigmatization? What could harm the public interest or rather what is the most profitable socially? “Asked the judge in particular, before deciding that the absolution did not go” against a denunciation of the behavior of the accused “.
Indeed, the absolution is not only in the “best interest” of Simon Lamarre in order to allow him to pursue a career, but also in “the public interest”, considers the judge. Simon Lamarre is “transparent”, shows remorse and presents a “moderate” risk of recidivism, according to experts. “The public can obviously be reassured,” said the judge.
“As I reflected on this case, I realized how difficult it is sometimes to disregard feelings of disgust or rather indignation by evaluating the appropriateness of a sentence to be imposed,” said Justice Gagné.
I want to be clear: I am not trivializing Mr. Lamarre’s actions.
Judge Jean-Jacques Gagné
Crown Attorney Me Sylvie Lemieux was not asking for any prison sentence, but only a suspended sentence (suspended sentence). Me Lemieux argued that the public would be “shocked” to learn that Simon Lamarre could once again find himself in a “position of authority” with students.
“Wrong message”
If he says “regret” his actions, Simon Lamarre still multiplies the excuses, saying he acted in a state of “bewilderment” and “identity crisis”, while he was stuck in a toxic relationship. According to the prosecution, Simon Lamarre poses as a victim of his “wicked and castrating” ex-wife.
It was precisely his ex-wife who denounced Simon Lamarre to the police after discovering a dozen suspicious videos in an old computer at the Center de services scolaire de Montréal.
His ex-wife had already confronted him about this three years earlier. Simon Lamarre then told him to be stimulated by “the forbidden”.
Surprisingly, the judge ignored in his judgment several elements contained in the reports, in particular the “hostility towards women” maintained by Simon Lamarre, as well as his “difficulty of severe intensity for deviant sexual interests towards adolescents”.
“This is the wrong message to send to the victims. This confirms the need for a specialized court in matters of domestic violence and sexual violence, ”emphasizes Louise Riendeau, spokesperson for the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victims of domestic violence. The Court should have shown a “minimum of caution”, especially since the accused blames his ex-spouse, she adds.
During the observations on the sentence, Simon Lamarre said he wanted to “redeem himself” by helping offenders or people with mental disorders. He was ready to go back to school in social work, for example. However, he did not seem to rule out pursuing his teaching career. He refused to answer our questions at the end of the hearing.
Me Alexandre Goyette defended the accused.