SOREL-TRACY | A substitute teacher and soccer coach from Montérégie admitted to having sexually assaulted a young student at his high school with whom he had agreed to help improve her academic results.
• Read also: This substitute teacher from Sorel accused of sexual assault on a student
“She said she loved me. She was consenting, even if it wasn’t real consent. »
This is what Tommy Deroy said during his police interrogation after his arrest, summarized Me Maude Champigny, Crown prosecutor, while reading the joint summary of the facts at the Sorel-Tracy courthouse.
On Monday morning, the 32-year-old entered a guilty plea to one count of sexual assault.
Private lessons
The relationship between the substitute teacher and the young girl whose identity is protected began during the 2021-2022 school year, at Bernard-Gariépy secondary school, in Sorel-Tracy.
They got to know each other while Deroy was doing replacements in a secondary 1 mathematics class.
Then, the following year, a supportive relationship developed between them, even though the victim was having difficulty in certain subjects.
The accused then began to help the victim succeed in her school year, it was summarized by the Crown, in particular, by giving her private lessons in his office.
First, they communicated through the Teams application, provided by the school, before switching to the private messaging of the Instagram application.
This is how the young girl developed feelings for the accused and they began an intimate relationship, when she was not even 14 years old yet.
Penalty to be determined
During this period, between May 1 and August 24, — shortly before Deroy was arrested — they were seen kissing at school and had sexual relations, at several times, the Crown said.
The accused after his appearance last August.
Photo Jonathan Tremblay
The two parties do not agree on a common suggestion regarding the sentence.
Deroy is due back in court next May for sentencing submissions.
The defense lawyer, Me Yannick Péloquin, intends to challenge the minimum sentence of one year. A pre-sentence report will be drawn up by then.
Deroy was also a soccer coach for minors for around ten years in the region. He had no criminal record.