Salma* is pregnant. At 16 years old. A disgrace, according to her family, who sent her to Quebec to have an abortion. Undocumented and isolated, she falls under the yoke of her violent and controlling uncle. The start of a nightmarish “couple” relationship. His tormentor even sexually assaulted their two daughters for years.
The 55-year-old man from La Prairie was found guilty last week at the Longueuil courthouse of numerous sexual crimes committed against his niece – who became his partner – and their two daughters over a period of two decades. He cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims.
“He represented the center of the teenager’s universe,” summarizes judge Dannie Leblanc.
Originally from Africa, Salma goes into exile in France to study with her sister. But in 2001, at the start of classes, she learned that she was pregnant. His parents are furious. Entrusted to relatives in Quebec, Salma had an abortion, alone. She brought “dishonor on the whole family”, she is accused. She is 16 years old.
His ordeal has only just begun. Her parents refuse to allow her to return to France. Without status in Canada, she stays with her 33-year-old uncle. One evening, he sexually assaulted her. Salma asks her parents again to return to France, but they refuse. The attacks intensify. The teenager sees no way out. A family reunion turns sour. The uncle leaves his wife and children and flees without luggage with his niece to northern Quebec. On the run, they sleep in the car and even on fir branches in the snow.
She felt like she was guilty in the whole thing, rejected by her family. Without papers, without education, without money, without family, she was at the mercy of the accused. She had no contact with anyone.
Justice Dannie Leblanc
“During this long journey, they had sex every day. She was only 16 years old,” recounts the judge.
Once, Salma fled, barefoot and without a coat, despite the cold. Her tormentor catches up with her and threatens to kill her and put her pieces in a freezer.
Isolated
During her captivity, Salma became pregnant several times, but suffered miscarriages while having a cocktail at the request of the accused. Her uncle invariably calls her a “whore” and makes her believe that he is a medium.
Two daughters were born from this forced union. His uncle continues to insult and attack him. Salma still has no status in the country. Helped by a neighbor, she managed to fly to France, where she resumed her studies. But her tormentor will follow her there. She ends up returning to Quebec, resigned.
In their neighborhood, on the South Shore of Montreal, they seem to form a “normal family”. No one knows that their partner is actually their uncle. Salma is still a prisoner. The accused controls all his comings and goings, his cell phone and his wallet. She is isolated.
The horror continues. Unbeknownst to Salma, the accused has been sexually assaulting their two daughters on a regular basis since the start of their elementary school years. When his eldest daughter is uncomfortable with being kissed with a tongue, her father reproaches her: “Don’t be like your mother. » The attacks occur on multiple occasions.
A treat or a meal at a restaurant. This is what the accused promises his youngest daughter to obtain sexual “favors”.
“Either you let me touch you, or you give me oral sex and I’ll give you hot chocolate, otherwise you won’t get anything,” he tells his daughter, then in primary school.
The attacks are sometimes particularly degrading. She is in 6e year.
Shock
When she finishes primary school, the youngest daughter shows great courage: she writes a letter to her mother to tell her her story. It’s a shock for Salma. Her other daughter says she experienced the same thing. The mother and her daughters will take refuge in a shelter for abused women.
For the first time, Salma is no longer under her uncle’s yoke.
At the trial, the accused denied having assaulted his daughters and portrayed a close and romantic relationship with Salma. A “not very credible” and “implausible” testimony, according to Judge Leblanc.
At 16, Salma could not consent to sexual acts due to the authoritative relationship with her “protective” uncle. The latter had “extraordinary” influence over his niece, a very naive and fragile teenager, according to the judge.
Even as an adult, Salma was never able to give informed consent, the judge analyzes. “She was kept in a position of dependence on him, still not having acquired legal status in Canada, not having an identity card or work permit. »
The offender now faces a severe penitentiary sentence. Sentencing submissions will take place in the coming months. He remains free until then.
Me Bruno Des Lauriers and Me Gabriella St-Onge represents the public prosecutor, while Me Audrey Santerre and Me Roxanne Laliberté defends the accused.
*Fictitious first name