A Montrealer who sexually assaulted his stepdaughter at knifepoint more than 35 years ago will serve four and a half years in prison, even though he is now 75 years old.
• Read also: Knife rape of his daughter-in-law: caught by #MeToo, he wants to avoid prison
“He took advantage of a moment alone with the victim to force her, at the point of a knife, to undress and have sex,” said Judge David Simon last week at the Montreal courthouse.
The industrial designer, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was found guilty of sexual assault with a weapon last March.
But the facts date back to December 1987, following a drunken evening where the accused and his stepdaughter, then aged 17, went to celebrate in a club with friends.
The man asked to stop at his house on the way back. They then had to go to the home of the victim and his mother, then the partner of the accused.
With a knife
Once inside the home, the father-in-law sat on the victim and placed his hand at her throat.
“The victim feels the pressure of a smooth object on his throat. She assumes it’s a knife. She is paralyzed,” we can read in the judgment.
Then he led her into the bedroom and made her undress.
“While she still wears her bra, [le beau-père] places the tip of a knife at the height of the victim’s chest. He told her “take that off” referring to the bra,” it says.
He then satisfied his urges by raping the teenager in several degrading ways.
“You know, it’s like you’re disconnecting,” the victim testified during the trial.
Denunciation
The teenager confided in a friend and her mother the next morning. The latter confronted her partner, who categorically denied it. They remained a couple for a few more years.
It was only in 2017, with the arrival of the #MeToo movement, that the victim had the courage to denounce her attacker. He was finally charged in 2019.
Even today, the septuagenarian denies the actions, but agrees that the attack is serious.
“A woman who experiences this must be demolished,” he told the court.
In this case, the Crown, represented by Me Delphine Mauger, demanded six years in penitentiary, while the defense, represented by Me Elisabeth Beauchamp, asked for a sentence of two years less a day to be served at home.