An 81-year-old pedophile who sexually assaulted six children between 1970 and 2000 has just been declared a long-term offender for a second time because he was stuck with more than 30,000 files of child porn.
“It is imperative to send a message to anyone who would be tempted to act as the accused did, that one file is one file too many,” judge François Landry said this fall at the courthouse in Joliette, by sentencing Réal Destroismaisons to five years in penitentiary followed by seven years of supervision.
The resident of Repentigny, on the North Shore of Montreal, was caught in July 2022 with more than 33,000 files of child pornography on a hard drive and two computers that were in his bedroom.
The images, which were uploaded between 2020 and 2022, mostly depicted young children aged under 12.
Destroismaisons had mentioned to the police during the search that “as long as you have some in your bedroom, it doesn’t bother”, believing that what was happening in this room concerned no one other than him.
Outlet
Those who have been diagnosed with a pedophilic disorder nevertheless ensure that they have avoided the presence of children for several years.
“The consumption of child pornography may have served as an outlet for his deviance, while [la] minimizing, because it did not cause direct victims, but without taking into account indirect victims,” we indicate in his pre-sentence report.
The octogenarian had already faced justice in the early 2000s. Arrested at the Lacolle border crossing while returning from a winter in Florida, he was initially accused of sexual assault on two girls under the age of 10 years.
Following an article published in THE Newspaperother victims came forward to the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu police.
“This is a very serious case,” said police officer Pierre Chouinard.
In this article from August 1, 2005, the mother of the girls attacked by Réal Destroismaisons testified that she feared that he had caused other victims.
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Destroismaisons was ultimately found guilty of various sexual offenses committed against four girls and two young boys between 1971 and 2003.
He was declared a dangerous offender in 2006, but the Court of Appeal overturned the decision four years later, declaring him a long-term offender. He then received a six-year penitentiary sentence followed by a seven-year period of supervision.
Deviant despite therapies
In the years following his conviction, Destroismaisons participated in a treatment program for several months, followed by two years in a maintenance program.
“The gentleman’s current inability to better prevent his repeat offenses, despite correctional intervention extending over twenty years, concerns us,” the author of the pre-sentence report, however, expressed alarm.
According to the latter, Réal Destroismaisons’ risk of recidivism is “higher than the average for sex offenders.”
“The Court considers that there is a real possibility that this risk could be maintained within the company,” concluded Judge Landry.
In this case, the Crown, represented by Me Aurélie Major, demanded a sentence of four to six years in addition to 10 years of supervision. Réal Destroismaisons’ lawyer hoped for her part to obtain a sentence of two years less a day combined with three years’ probation.