The Superior Court on Wednesday authorized a class action against the Or-et-des-Bois school service center for sexual assaults committed by a former teacher.
The plaintiff Jacinthe Boisvert St-Laurent claims to have been assaulted by Jean-Pierre Colas in 1987, when she was only 17 years old and attended the high school Le Carrefour, in Val-d’Or. The attack would have taken the form of anal penetration and would have been quickly denounced to a leader of the high school by the mother of the victim. This leader, however, would have said that nothing could be done even if the problem was well known.
“The employer knew at the time [que l’agresseur] had inappropriate contact with students and gestures were ignored, Ms.me Boisvert St-Laurent, who is also the victims’ representative. We were not protected. »
Now deceased, Jean-Pierre Colas worked at Le Carrefour high school as a French teacher and water polo coach from 1972 until 1993, when he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a student.
Mme Boisvert St-Laurent was able to identify at least three to six victims of Mr. Colas following the obtaining of documents from the Court. She thinks there could be more. “My lawyers have received information that there are other victims,” she said. I call on all victims to rally together. »
A first
This class action is the very first against a Francophone school service center for a case of sexual assault by a teacher. The outcome of the trial could therefore pave the way “for Quebec school service centers, as employers, to be held accountable for their laxity in terms of child safety in cases of sexual assault denounced”, said lawyer M.e Maryse Lapointe, in a press release.
A decision favorable to the plaintiffs would thus confirm “the legal responsibility of educational institutions towards children”.
Me Lapointe also believes that “nothing justifies an employer’s inaction in the event of allegations of sexual assault on minors” and that the priority of schools should always be to protect children.
The case will be heard at the Val-d’Or courthouse “in the next year or [dans] the next years “.
Neither the Or-et-des-Bois school service center nor the Le Carrefour high school had responded to calls from The PressWednesday evening.