“Psychopathic, narcissistic and antisocial”: a repeat sex offender who kidnapped a 16-year-old girl should be declared a dangerous offender, argues a psychological expert mandated by the crown.
According to expert in psychology and risk assessment of recidivism Marc-André Lamontagne, qualifying the accused Michel Vautour as a dangerous offender, a label reserved for the worst criminals in the country, is the only way to protect the community.
“He has the profile of a predator,” he said Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.
The expert also rated his risk of reoffending as high.
Michel Vautour pleaded guilty to three counts in July 2021: kidnapping, absconding and falsely claiming to be a police officer.
He would have intended to rape her
On August 7, 2020, the victim, then 16 years old, was walking on Saint-Viateur Street in Outremont, when the accused immobilized his vehicle – equipped with a flashing light – near her.
He then identifies himself as a policeman, and tells the victim that she is a suspect in a drug case. It was then that he handcuffed her, pushed her into the back seat of the vehicle and blindfolded her. The victim then starts screaming with all her might and asks the accused to let her out. She screams so loudly that she fears a loss of voice.
Miraculously, the victim managed to open the door of the vehicle. It is then that the delinquent throws himself on her to prevent her from fleeing. The two protagonists fall to the ground, the victim continues to scream.
Michel Vautour then fled by car, and was arrested in Saint-Jérôme following a long police chase. When searching the vehicle, officers found binoculars, a box of condoms and tie wraps.
The Crown, represented by Mr.e Annabelle Sheppard, has made a request to the court to qualify Michel Vautour as a dangerous offender.
During the evaluation of the accused by Marc-André Lamontagne, he confides to him that he intended to rape the victim, but that he changed his mind. “They see me as someone dangerous, I’m going to prove it to them,” he confessed to the psychologist, referring to his intention to leave.
A horror story
This nightmarish episode deeply traumatized the victim. “You should be ashamed,” she told the accused in her written testimony. This is something no one should experience, especially not a 16 year old girl. »
The young woman, who was present in the room with her relatives, also highlighted in her letter her post-traumatic shock, her insomnia, her feelings of constant fear and vigilance, and her emotional fatigue.
Despite this “terrifying event worthy of a horror movie”, she stresses that she is proud of herself. “I’m stronger now.”
The offender was also sentenced to two years in prison in March 2023 for developing an escape plan from the penitentiary in which he was serving a 21-year sentence for brutal and violent rapes committed in the 2000s.
The testimony of the accused, represented by Mr.e Diane Chartier, as well as the pleadings are scheduled for July 19.