An incestuous father originally sentenced to 7 years in prison, received a harsher sentence at his second trial after appealing his case.
• Read also: 12 to 14 years claimed for an incestuous father
Sentenced to seven years in 2020, Gilles Gilbert received a nine-year prison sentence on Wednesday at the Quebec courthouse.
Considering the time already spent in custody, the 80-year-old will now face seven years and two months for sexually assaulting his daughter and another underage victim between 1972 and 1988.
“The criminal responsibility of the accused is high and full,” ruled judge Hélène Bouillon.
One of the two victims, Karine Gilbert, the daughter of the accused, had requested and obtained the lifting of the order which protected her identity.
Immediate detention
With his back curled up, earphones on his ears to hear well, Gilles Gilbert nodded in disapproval as the judge rendered his decision.
Arrived freely, Gilles Gilbert did not come out of the courtroom. He tried to plead his Catholic faith, but he was taken into custody by the special constables anyway.
The man had been authorized to hold a second trial, the court of appeal considering that the first instance judge had shown “prejudice” in the face of the lifestyle of the accused and his wife who practiced swinging and nudism.
The outcome remains the same, a second guilty verdict. The Crown prosecutor had even demanded a detention period of 12 to 14 years for the attacker.
Gilles Gilbert began assaulting the two victims when they were 8 and 13 years old. Touching the breasts and the vagina, masturbation, filmed frolics, complete relationships, the assaults stretched over many years, marking the two victims with a hot iron for life.
The judge at the second trial cited at length the Friesen decision rendered in 2020. In this decision, the Supreme Court of Canada sends the clear message that we must impose harsher penalties for sexual offenses against children. “A maximum sentence should be imposed whenever the circumstances justify it”, wrote in particular the highest court of the country.
A long process
Last March, Karine Gilbert said she felt better about herself despite a ten-year long process. During her childhood, she lived every day as a burden, related the judge.
“Even so long insecurity has been part of my life, I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I no longer intend to let myself go, ”said the now 46-year-old woman.
The judge considered that the first sentence of seven years could not be described as “disproportionately lenient” but that the current situation called for a more serious sentence.
Many years after the crimes, Karine Gilbert finally filed a complaint in 2013. Gilles Gilbert was imprisoned in September 2020, then released in December 2021.
– With the collaboration of Pierre-Paul Biron
Some dates
- 2013: Karine Gilbert files a complaint.
- July 2016: An arrest warrant is issued against Gilles Gilbert.
- September 2018: Preliminary investigation.
- October 2019: Trial begins.
- March 2020: Guilty verdict.
- September 2020: Gilles Gilbert goes to the cells.
- December 2021: The Quebec Court of Appeal orders a new trial. Gilles Gilbert is released unconditionally.
- May 2023: Gilles Gilbert is sentenced to nine years in prison.