Arrest of basketball coaches | A school in shock

Three basketball coaches from Saint-Laurent high school in Montreal, suspected of crimes of a sexual nature against two minors, were arrested on Wednesday, raising a commotion among the 2,000 students of this establishment, their parents, employees, management. and the environment of this sport which is the pride of the school.

Daniel Renaud
The Press

Alice Girard-Bosse
The Press

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

Daniel Lacasse, 43, head of the school’s basketball program, and two other coaches, Xavier Boislard, 43, and Robert Luu, 31, were apprehended by City Police Department Sexual Assault investigators de Montréal (SPVM) on Wednesday morning and will be charged with various crimes of a sexual nature this Thursday afternoon, at the Montreal courthouse.

Daniel Lacasse, who is presented as an “administrative manager” of the school, was arrested in the school. The three men, in particular Daniel Lacasse, are known and highly respected in the world of school basketball, and the Saint-Laurent high school program has, for years, trained very good players, many of whom have been admitted to colleges or universities in the United States.

“We arrested three coaches of a sports team,” said agent Véronique Comtois, spokesperson for the police force, specifying that the case is linked to sexual assaults which were allegedly committed. on two minor victims who would have attended the institution in the period from 2008 to 2014”. These two victims reportedly came forward directly to the police.

The SPVM should publish a press release this Thursday after the appearance of the three men and could take the opportunity to invite any other potential victim to come forward.

Looking for videos

According to our information, the victims would be players or former basketball players from the school, minors at the time of the events, from disadvantaged or single-parent families, and whose ambitions were to be part of the elite of their sport. Among the offenses, it would be in particular a question of sexual gestures which would have been made during parties watered with players.

The alleged acts would have spread over many years, and some would have been photographed or filmed, which could explain the presence of investigators from the Cyberinvestigation section of the SPVM during the search at Daniel Lacasse’s house on Wednesday, in Laval.

“I was really surprised. I couldn’t believe it. When it happens next to your home, to people you meet and your children see, it’s a shock, ”says Isabelle Michaud, neighbor of Daniel Lacasse.

His 7-year-old daughter often rubs shoulders with that of Daniel Lacasse. “Since they moved here about two years ago, they’ve always played together. My daughter was always at his house,” she said.

“It’s not reassuring to learn that things like this are happening near your home,” she adds.

Shocked

Media coverage of the arrest of the three coaches spread like wildfire and had the effect of a high school bombshell.

Several SPVM socio-community officers were dispatched to the scene, on the sidelines of the police operation, to provide psychosocial support to students and staff.

The director general of the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center was quick to react on Wednesday, shortly after the announcement of the arrests, through a brief press release. He himself was director of the school for a few years, during the period when the assaults were committed.

“We have just been informed that members of the staff of the Saint-Laurent school were arrested this afternoon. We take the situation very seriously. We will remain in contact with the Service de police de Montréal (SPVM) and will put in place all the recommendations and directives that may be made to us,” said Dominic Bertrand.

When classes left on Wednesday, the students were in shock. “It doesn’t seem real to me. School is supposed to be a safe environment. It’s shocking,” said fifth-grade student Andres Penuela.

“I am really worried about my safety. We are here to study, and there are men who do that. It can’t be done,” says Myrianna, a fourth-grade student.

Newman Kamite, a Secondary 5 student who played basketball at Saint-Laurent school for three years, had a hard time believing it.

On Wednesday afternoon, an email was sent to the parents of the school to inform them of the situation. The director of the establishment, René Bernier, said he took “the situation very seriously”.

Parents, met at the end of the classes, were concerned. “My two children play basketball on the school teams. It worries me, ”said a father who wished to keep his name silent for fear of reprisals.

When he heard the news, he rushed to pick up his daughter from school. “Of course we will have discussions,” he said.

He moved to Montreal so that his children could study at Saint-Laurent high school, known for basketball. “These are big competitive teams, among the best in Quebec. They travel a lot. They go to the United States five to six times a year,” says the father.

According to Olga Hrycak, former head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of Quebec in Montreal and former assistant to Team Canada, it is sadly not a “surprise” that such things happen in the sports world. “I feel bad for these young people. It happens in so many situations, stories like that. It’s really sad, but unfortunately it’s not surprising,” she explains.

She asserts that by being a coach in an environment composed almost exclusively of men, she always took certain precautions, including that of having an assistant “who went into the locker room after the game or during a practice”. “These were ways for me to make sure that as an educator, it doesn’t happen to me,” she says, adding that these means of prevention should be much more numerous nowadays.

“We hope that justice will be done”

On the side of the Quebec Student Sports Network, the president and general manager, Gustave Roel, strongly deplored the situation when contacted by The Press, Wednesday.

“It’s the kind of situation you never want to see. What we want are safe environments. We hope that justice will be done and that the school will take all the necessary steps”, he said, recalling that his group has an online complaints mechanism, called “I file a complaint”, which allows all student-athletes to report “any form of abuse, harassment, neglect or violence” against them.

The Minister responsible for Sports and Recreation, Isabelle Charest, also reacted in writing, calling on all victims to come forward.

“This situation is unacceptable and my thoughts are with the victims. Since my arrival in politics, I have acted so that sportsmen and women evolve in a healthy and safe environment. I will continue to make it a priority and I will continue to work to ensure that sport is a fulfilling environment for all. For those who are going through a difficult situation in their sport, the Sport’Aide and Sport bien-être platforms are available to listen to you,” she told The Press.

“This is a totally appalling and unacceptable situation. We are shocked to learn that individuals in positions of authority over young Montrealers have been arrested for sexual assault. We are wholeheartedly with the victims and we salute their courage for having denounced their attackers, ”said the cabinet of the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante.

To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.