A man who has spent his life rebuilding himself hopes to come full circle by suing Académie Sainte-Thérèse, where he was sexually assaulted at age 12 by a dormitory guard in the 1980s.
To get to work, Pascal Granger passes every day in front of the Académie Sainte-Thérèse, a private college located in the city of the same name.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Sainte-Therese Academy
“Say… [L’école]I do not look at it, ”admits the 52-year-old man.
Laval resident Pascal Granger is suing the Académie Sainte-Thérèse for more than $150,200, according to the motion filed at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse on September 19.
He was 12 years old when he became a boarder at this school in 1982. Dormitory guard Denis Beauregard greeted him when he arrived.
For about six months, Denis Beauregard abused his power as guardian and academic tutor over the boy to sexually assault him: touching, fellatio, sodomy, can we read in the lawsuit.
Quietly dismissed
Mr. Granger was not the only victim. It was another student who reported the man. The school management decided to fire him, but not to notify the police.
Asked by management whether he had also been attacked, Pascal Granger denied. At the time, shame and guilt were too powerful to face the truth, he explains.
Mr. Granger will spend his life recovering from the aftermath of this trauma. From the age of 14, he began to consume alcohol and hard drugs. He left school in 3e secondary, at age 15.
“I was revolted […] Everything related to authority, whether school or the police, I did not want to know anything.
Long hair, pendant in the shape of a rifle bullet, skulls. “I was scary,” he sums up. “It’s like life isn’t worth it.”
- Listen to Félix Séguin at the microphone of Richard Martineau on QUB radio:
Nathalie Simard
The click happened in 2005. On TV, Nathalie Simard lifts the veil on the assaults she suffered. Suddenly, the memories overwhelmed him. “I haven’t slept all night.”
It was then that he decided to denounce Denis Beauregard, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2009 to serve 18 months in prison.
“When they put the handcuffs on him, I felt relief and a sense of pride. […] He couldn’t abuse other people anymore.”
Mr. Granger then continued his journey in therapy. In 2017, he joined Narcotics Anonymous and quit using.
Continuing school is the last step for him before he can completely turn the page. “After that, I will be able to say that I have done everything.”
“We can continue [une école] for the acts of his employee […] The question to ask is: did he use his functions to abuse his position of authority?”, explains Mr.e Jimmy Lambert, Mr. Granger’s attorney.
Limitation period
He would have filed a lawsuit much earlier, but to start the process, it was necessary to wait until the Legault government abolished in 2020 the limitation period which made it impossible to prosecute for facts dating back more than 30 years.
Mr. Granger also invites victims of sexual violence not to hesitate to denounce and consult.
“I have a sadness in me and it will remain for life.” But it’s never too late to start healing, he says.
For its part, the Sainte-Thérèse Academy says it is “deeply saddened by these upsetting events” and mentions that no leader of the time is still in office.
“Management is trying to shed light on the file,” wrote general manager Martin Landry by email.