They would have filmed acts of a sexual nature committed on minors, then broadcast the whole thing on social networks. After a lengthy investigation, three 17-year-olds from Mercier were arrested and charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting five young girls.
Posted at 12:12 p.m.
Updated at 5:01 p.m.
The three teenagers allegedly released sexually explicit images and videos implicating certain victims. The sequences filmed and recorded without the knowledge of young students from Louis-Philippe-Paré high school, in Châteauguay, circulated on the application Snapchat throughout last summer.
According to our information, there would be five victims aged 13 to 15, four of whom would attend the same school.
The 17-year-old suspects were arrested following a lengthy investigation that began last September. One of them was intercepted by the police in front of the Louis-Philippe-Paré school on Wednesday morning.
“It went around the whole school. The young girls were demolished, ”says a staff member of the establishment, not authorized to speak to the media under penalty of reprisals.
Until recently, one of the suspects was still going to the same school as one of the victims, according to our police sources. The two met there regularly.
According to our information, some victims even changed schools after the videos were broadcast.
This modus operandi of the three suspects would last since 2019, says a fourth-grade student familiar with the situation.
“It marked me, because I knew [l’un des suspects]. It’s boring because some girls have changed schools and others have dropped out of school altogether. »
Multiple charges
The three young men arrested Wednesday morning are charged with aggravated sexual assault and voyeurism. They are also charged with production, possession and publication of child pornography.
One of the three suspects is also accused of inducing a minor to produce intimate content under threat, forcing her to post intimate content and stealing computer equipment belonging to the school.
The crimes were allegedly committed between June 28 and September 17.
“It is not our habit to comment on specific situations. However, I can inform you that the situation mentioned occurred during the summer,” explained Hélène Dumais, from the Grandes-Seigneuries school service center.
She did not give details of the actions taken by management to handle the situation. It is not known whether any sanctions were imposed by the school administration, who had been made aware of the alleged acts.
“As soon as we are informed of a situation such as the one described, we deal with it diligently and ensure that an investigation is carried out and that the appropriate protocols are initiated. Likewise, we act in full collaboration with the police service of the territory concerned, ”assured Ms.me Dumais by email.
Long and laborious investigation
The investigation began at the end of September. The Mercier police were in charge of the case, because the suspects live in this city on the South Shore of Montreal and the crimes were allegedly committed there.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) assisted the Police Department of the City of Mercier in this case, but only for the technical part of the investigation.
In all, five search warrants have led to the seizure and expertise of electronic devices belonging to the three young defendants in recent months.
Gathering the evidence in this case required patience and meticulousness. “These are elements that have been transmitted by electronic means. Seizing the devices is not a problem, but recovering the elements can be difficult when it is broadcast on certain platforms, ”explains Steeve Boutin, director of the Police Department of the City of Mercier.
Remember that ephemeral content is broadcast for a period of 24 hours on the platform Snapchat.
According to our information, the police responsible for the case intervened with two of the suspects to stop the production of the images. To reassure the victims, we wanted to make sure that the visual of a sexual nature would no longer be shared.
The suspects would not have complied.
It’s zero tolerance. We want people to understand that these are serious crimes that will never be taken lightly by the police.
Steeve Boutin, director of the Police Department of the City of Mercier
Despite Wednesday’s intervention, the investigation into these cases is continuing and, as a result, other charges could follow in the coming weeks. Police believe the suspects may have had other victims.
” Not normal “
We must do more to protect all pupils and students, not just those in CEGEPs and universities, said Josianne Deluy, co-founder of the collective La voix des jeunes compte.
The group campaigns for better protection of victims of sexual violence in primary and secondary schools in Quebec.
High school students are not spared from crimes of a sexual nature, she says. She deplores the absence of a well-defined framework for school principals. “For me, a victim who meets his attacker in the hallways is not normal. »
“We need a law to protect young people and allow them to continue their studies normally,” insists Ms.me Deluy.