Sex crime on a minor victim | How was Thierry Karsenti able to obtain a pardon?

Thierry Karsenti worked in education even if he committed a crime of a sexual nature on a minor victim, in 1991. It is that the man succeeded in obtaining a pardon; his criminal record has thus disappeared. But this ex-teacher was found guilty again on Wednesday, this time of sexual contact with an 11-year-old child. How could all this have happened? M^e Claudia Morin Bérubé, lawyer specializing in criminal record suspension applications, answers our questions.

In 2023, could a person guilty of sexual contact with a minor obtain a pardon?

Since March 2012, it has been extremely difficult for a person convicted of a sexual offense against a minor to obtain a pardon. Three criteria are taken into consideration. First, the person should not be in a position of authority or trust towards the victim. A teacher, parent, guardian or guardian of children will therefore never be able to obtain a pardon. Second, she must not have used violence during the offence. Third, the person must be less than five years older than the victim. All three criteria must be met to apply for a record suspension.

Will Thierry Karsenti’s pardon be revoked since he was found guilty of sexual contact with a minor on Wednesday?

I don’t know all the details of his case, but this man’s pardon will most likely be revoked considering the new conviction. A few situations may actually lead to the revocation of a record suspension, such as if a person is convicted of a new offense or there is evidence that they have ceased to behave well. As soon as the pardon is revoked, the file reappears in the docket and in the database of the Canadian Police Information Centre.

Are “pardon” and “criminal record suspension” synonyms?

Since March 2012, we have been talking about a “record suspension”. Before this date, we used to say “pardon” or “rehabilitation”. During this important modification to the Criminal Records Act, the deadlines before being able to apply for a pardon have also been extended. For offenses punishable by summary conviction, the time limit has been increased from three to five years. For offenses prosecuted by indictment, the time limit has been increased from five to ten years.

Were people who committed a crime before 2012 affected by the changes to the law?

There is a small clarification to be made. The rules changed in 2012, but pardon applications for crimes committed before that date are still processed under the rules of the day. For example, a person applying for a record suspension in 2023 for a crime committed in 2000, their file would be processed according to the pre-2012 rules.