Four years in prison: this is the sentence imposed on Friday on the father of the girl from Granby, whose death shocked all of Quebec in April 2019.
Judge François Huot, in rendering his sentence, denounced the “unspeakable cowardice” of the 32-year-old man, who had pleaded guilty on December 13 to a charge of kidnapping. The father thus avoided a trial on three other counts, including that of criminal negligence causing death.
“How could you have tied your child up like this?” You behaved towards this little girl as one would not even towards an animal ”, denounced the judge.
Calling bluntly on the accused before sending him behind bars, the magistrate accused him of having “delivered [sa fille] in food ”to his wife and for treating her like a madwoman. “Hell, she was only 7 years old!” He thundered.
Recall that the stepmother, convicted in December of the premeditated murder of the child and kidnapping, is serving a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 13 years.
The four-year sentence imposed on the father was a joint suggestion by crown and defense lawyers, which was endorsed by the judge.
As the father had been detained after his arrest, a period of six months is deducted from the sentence; He therefore has three and a half years in prison to serve.
Touching testimonies
Before the sentence is pronounced, relatives of the small victim spoke about the consequences of the tragedy.
The mother gave a moving testimony, recalling that she had pleaded tirelessly for the custody of her daughter to be withdrawn from the father. She had also denounced the mistreatment that the little one was undergoing.
Why have you taken her from a place where she felt good, if it was to steal her, to neglect her?
The girl’s mother, addressing her ex-partner
“Why were you able to hurt your own daughter?” Why is my daughter in an urn right now? She said in a heartbreaking voice.
The girl’s grandmother, who had custody of her for a few years, also testified that she was greatly affected by the tragedy. “Imagine the psychological trauma this child experienced, abandoned on the floor, naked, wrapped in slap, unable to move, and her father who remains insensitive to her cries and her sufferings, ”said the tearful grandmother.
Lenient sentence?
“He got out without a trial by having pleaded guilty. […] After all the evil he has done, ”denounced the brother of the accused, in a statement read in court.
Judge Huot said he understood that relatives are not satisfied with the sentence, and anticipated an outcry among the population towards a sentence that could be perceived as lenient.
But he explained at length how an admission of guilt by the accused to one of the charges was preferable to a trial with an uncertain outcome. A trial would have forced the teenage son of the stepmother to testify, while he has already testified for the first time at the trial of his own mother.
Escape attempts
In the joint statement of facts presented to Judge Huot on Friday at the Trois-Rivières courthouse, the father admitted having made the decision with his wife to sequester his daughter with duct tape to prevent her from escaping from home, after she tried to escape several times.
The child had been tied up in her bedroom, on the floor, during the night. During the morning of April 29, 2019, the child’s mother-in-law had added adhesive tape, in the absence of the father.
Back home in the morning, the father waited more than an hour before going to see his daughter, whom he finally found unconscious. He then called the emergency services, but the girl died the next day in hospital.
The role of the DPJ
The statement of facts also recalls that the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse, which followed the child from birth and granted custody to the father, had kept the little girl in this living environment despite the fact that her child stepmother had previously been convicted of assaulting her.
The father did not say a word when invited to speak before the sentence was handed down.
You don’t have the courage to express the slightest regret in court or the slightest apology to the family.
Judge François Huot, addressing the father
The father tried to explain his actions, in the account of the facts, by presenting himself as an “exhausted father, in search of help which he did not receive and who, in desperation and at the end of his of resources, has exaggerated in the application of educational measures ”.
“I have no sympathy for you,” said Judge Huot, addressing the accused. “You have behaved like a coward, and your behavior disgusts me as much as it disgusts almost the entire province of Quebec. ”