“This man put me through hell,” breathes Vanessa*. Sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by her father, the courageous teenager “regained her voice” by testifying against her executioner. The Crown is asking for 10 years in prison, while the defense is suggesting the minimum sentence because of the defendant’s “exemplary” rehabilitation.
Now 17, the victim read a heart-pounding letter in mid-December during his father’s sentencing submissions. The 50-year-old Montrealer pleaded guilty to incest and sexual assault charges at the Montreal courthouse. We can’t reveal her name to protect her daughter’s identity.
“I was disgusted by the decision my father made. I was disgusted by my existence. I felt like an unwanted little girl who had been cursed. Traumatized, I didn’t tell anyone what I was going through. When I spoke, my voice hurt me. Sometimes I couldn’t get a sound out. To this day, my throat is still tight,” the victim said.
It was by cycling across Canada alone in her mid-teens that Vanessa managed to “regain” her strength. Despite the atrocities he put her through, she has forgiven her father and wishes him an “honest life”.
He lost the best family he could have had. My only goal was to regain my voice.
Vanessa*, victim of her father
“You are a very strong, very courageous and very empathetic lady,” said judge Manlio Del Negro.
The crimes committed by the father of four children are of untold horror. Between 2013 and 2015, he took advantage of the absence of his wife, who was working at night, to sexually assault their youngest daughter a dozen times. She was only 9 years old.
The 50-year-old Montrealer was arrested in 2019 after being reported by his daughter.
A sentence of 10 years in prison is necessary for such serious and intrusive acts towards a young girl, according to the public prosecutor’s office. In terms of incest, the minimum is 5 years and the maximum is 14 years.
“Five years is the floor. It is clearly not indicated in this case, ”insisted the Crown prosecutor, Ms.e Charles Doucet. Among the aggravating factors, he notes breach of trust, the young age of the victim, the seriousness of the crimes and their frequency. ” [La victime] will live all her life with the abusive gestures of her own father who had to protect her in the family home, ”pleaded Me Sweet.
In the reports, the accused seems to explain his acting out by his lack of sexuality, lamented the prosecutor. “It’s horrible to start wanting to pretend that [cela] can explain or justify abusing one’s own daughter,” said Ms.e Sweet.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Crown prosecutor M.e Charles Doucet
A report reveals that the father made jokes of a sexual nature during his sexological evaluation to “create a bond of complicity” with his interlocutor. “I haven’t seen that often,” said the prosecutor.
“I am the only culprit”
The defense believes that the minimum sentence of five years in prison is adequate. On several occasions, M.e Jean-François Boudreau noted the “courage” of his client and his “exemplary” rehabilitation.
He did everything in his power to heal himself, to mend his ways, to rehabilitate himself. It takes courage.
Me Jean-François Boudreau, defense lawyer
The reports conclude that there is a low risk of recidivism and an absence of pedophilic disorder. In addition, the father recognizes the seriousness of his crimes and shows empathy towards the victim, argued Ms.e Boudeau. He also “paid the price” by losing contact with his other children.
The 50-year-old man, who works as a “handyman”, spoke eloquently of the benefits of his therapeutic journey. Without attempting to justify his crimes, he explained that he understood the factors that led him to commit his “deviant and criminal” acts, namely his depression, his financial difficulties and his bad family relationships.
He also praised the “courage” that his daughter had to denounce him. “This courage, I’ve never had it,” he said. “I took advantage of your vulnerability and your innocence to take control of your person. I am the only culprit for making you suffer these horrible crimes. I clearly failed in my role as a father by subjecting you to the unspeakable, ”he said.
The judge will hand down his sentence next March. The accused remains at liberty.
* Fictitious first name