A refugee with a past as a child soldier who sexually assaulted his daughter in a hotel in the metropolis was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday at the Montreal courthouse.
“Incest is one of the worst crimes in the Criminal Code. This crime has several layers of horror. The consequences are terrible for the victim and the family,” concluded Judge Pierre E. Labelle.
In the dock, the unidentified man protecting his daughter looked crestfallen and stunned by the sentence. “Is it five years? “, he asked at the end of the hearing. Yet this was a common suggestion from lawyers and the minimum sentence. He has about three and a half years left to serve given the preventive detention.
The 38-year-old man, originally from West Africa, arrived with his wife and children in Canada in the spring of 2022 after a grueling journey. They then applied for refugee status.
It was during their accommodation in a Montreal hotel that the father sexually assaulted his daughter on at least one occasion. According to him, his daughter under 16 “enjoyed” the experience. He had also explained to the police that he had a “very strong sexual drive”.
Moreover, it was probably not the first time that he sexually assaulted his own daughter. He would indeed have assaulted her “often” in Mexico, the Crown had indicated last March.
Among the aggravating factors, the judge holds that the father did not protect himself even though he was HIV positive. Also, it is a serious breach of trust with regard to his daughter. The judge also noted the dramatic consequences for the victim and the weak introspection of the father.
As mitigating factors, the judge retains the difficult past of the accused, a child soldier captured by rebels and separated from his family at the age of 8 years. Also, his lack of a criminal record and his admission of guilt were considered by the judge to ratify the joint suggestion of the lawyers.
The man also risks being expelled from the country following his sentence.
Me Marie-Hélène Giroux defended the accused, while Me Jérôme Laflamme was the Crown prosecutor.