Several high school teachers and coaches in Quebec have been accused of various sex crimes perpetrated against minor students in recent years, causing consternation among those who saw educational establishments as a “safe” place for their children. This week, one of them is undergoing his preliminary investigation for sexual exploitation, the first in this recent wave of high-profile accusations which has shocked Quebec.
Daniel Lacasse is one of three coaches from St-Laurent high school in Montreal who were arrested on the same day in February 2022.
The arrest of the trio worried the then Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, who then asked his ministry to investigate to find out what could have happened there.
As cases continued to accumulate and hit the headlines, his successor at Education, Bernard Drainville, launched a “general investigation” into the situation in March 2023.
General conclusions have been drawn, but the details of how these crimes could have been committed in a school, off the radar of staff and other students, often remain unexplained.
Except that this week, Judge Suzanne Custom will look into the case of Daniel Lacasse, aged 44, who at the time of the alleged facts was coach and head of the basketball program at St-Laurent high school.
He faces a charge of sexual exploitation. He is accused of having “touched part of the body of […] for sexual purposes”, of a teenage girl over whom he was in a position of authority or trust, between September 1, 2010 and April 10, 2012.
His preliminary investigation is scheduled to last four days at the Montreal courthouse. During this stage of the criminal proceedings, the Crown will be called upon to reveal to the judge all the evidence it holds against the accused. This is a sort of “test” of the strength of the testimony and other evidence. The complainant also began her testimony Tuesday morning.
It is not possible to reveal what will be revealed during the preliminary investigation – a publication ban having been issued by Judge Custom – but it will eventually be revealed publicly during the trial.
Three arrests at the same time
Daniel Lacasse was arrested at the same time as two other coaches from the same school, Charles-Xavier Boislard and Robert Luu, for whom the list of charges is longer. Robert Luu was charged with three counts, namely sexual assault, sexual contact with a minor, as well as inciting a girl under the age of 16 to perform sexual acts. The same charges are accused of Charles-Xavier Boislard, who was also accused of sexual exploitation of a minor. The acts of which the three men are accused were committed over a long period, between 2008 and 2017.
Detained upon their arrest, they were subsequently released, but are required to respect numerous conditions.
None of the Crown’s allegations have yet been proven before a judge and all three men are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A report on the situation at St-Laurent school
The report commissioned by the Ministry of Education on the particular situation of the St-Laurent school returned in July 2022 with this conclusion: “the dignity of several student athletes was compromised” during their years spent in this establishment. ‘education. The public was informed of some of the findings of the report, through a press release which spoke of “significant deficiencies in terms of supervision and controls related to the basketball program at Saint-Laurent school”, without further details.
The one requested by Minister Drainville, the “General investigation report on the administrative management of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior”, was made public very recently, on September 1. It broadly highlights that Quebec schools are ill-equipped to deal with cases of sexual misconduct.
The trial of the three men could eventually enlighten the authorities and indicate to them how the protection mechanisms failed.