A returning officer from Élections Québec faces prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old teenager at the start of the pandemic. Claude Hamelin took advantage of his relationship of trust with the victim’s family to assault this boy a dozen times over the months.
The resident of Pierrefonds, in the west of Montreal, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to one count of sexual contact with a child under the age of 16. The 57-year-old had been charged in December 2020, but the case had never been publicized.
Appointed returning officer for the riding of Nelligan by Elections Quebec in September 2017, Claude Hamelin is still employed by the public body to this day. His crimes, however, were not committed in the course of his duties. There was no question of his employment before the court.
“Following his indictment, he was temporarily suspended from his duties. He therefore did not work for Élections Québec during the general elections of 2022. The case relating to labor relations, we cannot comment on it in the public square, ”indicated to The Press Elections Quebec spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud Drolet.
To protect the identity of the victim, we cannot establish the exact link between the aggressor and the victim. We can summarize that Claude Hamelin had gained the confidence of the teenager and his parents. The boy therefore regularly frequented the residence of the accused to watch films, eat, do his homework and even sleep there.
It was at the end of March 2020, in the midst of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, that Claude Hamelin took action for the first time. He started with massages, then continued with butt massages and masturbation over clothes.
Claude Hamelin assaulted the victim a dozen times between March and November 2020. It was his roommate who reported him to the victim’s parents after catching him performing oral sex on the teenager in their apartment . The parents then contacted 9-1-1.
Sentencing submissions are scheduled for next May. Since the Friesen judgment of the Supreme Court in 2020, sexual assaults against minors are punished much more severely. Claude Hamelin thus risks a substantial prison sentence for his crime.
Me Charles Doucet represents the public ministry, while Me Mike Jr Boudreau defends the accused.