Beaten from morning to night for three days, with her eleven-month-old baby in the house, Suzie Levasseur filed a complaint against her ex-spouse in 1997, so that no woman would ever suffer the same fate. She then learned that another woman had reported him to the police a few months earlier. Today, she knows that her attacker has reoffended and that he has had at least six victims in the past 25 years. This recidivist has accumulated charges and convictions without this preventing him from starting again.
“How often is the justice system going to give second chances? asks Suzie Levasseur, who is now coordinator of the Anita-Lebel shelter in Baie-Comeau. This resource welcomes women at high risk of being murdered. “The justice system should be an ally, but when I see that, 25 years later, this man has reoffended, I’m sure I wonder what’s the point of going through this whole process,” he confides. -she.
The judicial roadmap of her ex-spouse is enough to make you dizzy. From 1996 to 2021, Tony Hamilton pleaded guilty six times in domestic violence cases against six different companions, in six different cities. He was behind bars and served sentences ranging from 8 months to 30 months for assault with a weapon, assault and death threats. His most recent sentence was imposed on him in April 2021 after he pleaded guilty to 13 counts for acts committed from 2011 to 2014 with regard to his spouse. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Lise — fictitious name — knew nothing of Tony Hamilton’s violent past. This is The duty who told him that she was the sixth woman to have suffered his attacks. “If he had been framed, maybe I wouldn’t have had to go through this,” says the woman, whose identity is protected by the court. “For three years, I looked like a raccoon. He had isolated me, I couldn’t leave my house without him, there were times when he beat me and I was sure I was going to die. In fact, sometimes I hoped to die because I couldn’t take it anymore,” she says.
Tony Hamilton notably admitted having drugged her to tattoo TONY on her vulva and a butterfly on her chest. He also admitted to throwing her on the bed and then stabbing her around her body, completely tearing the mattress. “I denounced him, but every day I am terrified to think that he will one day come out of detention and want revenge,” she said. The road to recovery also has its share of obstacles for the woman who has partially lost her sight from being beaten. “I can’t afford glasses, and I’ve been waiting for more than four years for a response from Criminal Injuries Compensation [IVAC] to find out if they can compensate me,” confides the one who also has to live with a constant ringing in her ears.
protect others
“When a woman files a complaint, she does so to protect others. I must admit that I have the impression of having failed, that the system has failed too,” says Suzie Levasseur. “This man has never killed physically, except that he has killed many internally. Why, despite all that, is it not better supervised? »
“It’s amazing to see all the red flags that should have been raised,” laments Sabrina Nadeau, executive director of the association À coeur d’homme, which brings together 31 organizations for men struggling with violent behavior. . From the first intervention of the police, the perpetrators of violence should be informed of the services that exist to initiate a change, she underlines.
The difficulties of supervising violent spouses are addressed in the report rebuild trust of the Committee of Experts on Support for Victims of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. ” [La] monitoring — or [l’]lack of oversight — has a direct impact on victims’ confidence in the administration of justice,” reads the document, which includes 190 recommendations to better support victims.
This lack of supervision was almost fatal to Khaoula Grissa and her daughter. While he was forbidden to communicate with her after years of violence, her ex, Jerry Simon, spied on her and followed her on several occasions, notably in a Costco and at the Place Versailles shopping center in Montreal. She then telephoned the police, who upheld her complaint thanks to images from surveillance cameras. Her ex-husband was charged and detained. A few weeks after his release, he broke into her home, assaulted her and then took his own life. It was only after her ex-husband died that she learned he had a history of domestic violence.
Despite the alarm signals that constituted the actions of her ex-spouse, the mother of the family believes that she was left to herself. “I’m angry,” she admits. The police didn’t protect me, the system didn’t protect me, when I told them that I was scared, that he was going to end up killing me. »
“It will have taken too many feminicides for us to end up announcing the implementation of the electronic bracelet, yet it could have made a big difference. Me, it would have saved me from this tragedy. »
The gradual implementation of a system of anti-reconciliation bracelets was announced in February by the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault. “This bracelet is another game », launches the Minister in an interview with The duty. “It’s really a tool for preventing recidivism and breaches of conditions. When you look at the six countries that have used it, no women have been killed. »
In December 2023, Quebec plans that 500 devices will be available to monitor the comings and goings of people accused or convicted of offenses in the context of domestic violence. An initiative that will cost $41 million. The anti-reconciliation bracelet can be installed at different stages of the judicial process, from release pending trial, or even after detention. It may be imposed by judges, directors of detention facilities and commissioners of the Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles.
The imposition of the bracelet will be done with the victim’s consent since the latter must also have a device that will emit a warning signal if the wearer approaches a prohibited area. The bracelet will allow you to geolocate it at all times.
Tony Hamilton’s victim is hesitant. Although she is aware that it is a mechanism that will be controlled, she has difficulty trusting it. “I don’t know if it makes me feel any better to think he might have a bracelet because I figure he might find a way to turn it off,” she said, fear in her voice. Physically and psychologically destroyed by a repeat offender, she says: “When it gets dark, I relive everything he made me live […] Me, I don’t sleep at night, I allow myself to sleep when it starts to get light. I only think about his revenge, I can’t move on, my brain is always on alert, I sleep with a knife under my mattress. “ Tony Hamilton has in principle still seven years, four months and seventeen days to serve. Lise feels suspended. “I hope he never scraps any more, especially now that I know there were five.” »