Six years in prison for extreme domestic violence | “You are my wife, I can do whatever I want to you”

For 20 years, Adam* treated his wife like his property. He sexually assaulted her on countless occasions. “You are my wife, I can do whatever I want to you,” he repeated to her. He also beat their daughter, to the point of affecting her hearing. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to six years in prison.

“His violence was completely gratuitous. His wife was alone in the country. And he imposed an atmosphere of domination and control by instilling fear,” said Judge Claude Leblond on Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.

This “significant” sentence sends a message of hope to victims of domestic violence, according to the Crown. “It is important to tell the victims that we will support them and that it is possible to have significant convictions and sentences,” said Ms.^e Kahina Rougeau Daoud in interview with The Press.

The 69-year-old Pierrefonds resident was found guilty last November of several charges against his wife and daughter, including sexual assault, assault causing injury, and threats. The offender cannot be named to protect the identity of the two victims.

Quickly violent

Marie*’s ordeal began in 1997 when she joined her husband in Canada. The couple had married a few years earlier in South America. Very quickly, Adam shows himself to be jealous, controlling and violent. Once, he punched his wife several times in the face simply because she had spoken to another man.

A spiral of violence of which Marie will remain prisoner for years.

Every week, Adam comes home from work, drunk, and hits his wife. He attacks her, even when she is pregnant.

One morning, “furious” after having a dream, Adam hits his wife. This time she calls the police, but Adam’s mother and sister beg her to drop the complaint.

Physical abuse is regular. One evening, Adam suspects his wife of having slept with another man. He then sexually assaults her. The next day, Marie took refuge in a house for abused women. Once again, the accused and his family will push her to withdraw her complaint.

Another time, to avoid yet another sexual assault, Marie fled. She finds herself naked, outside, in the middle of winter. Despite the cold, she stayed there for 10 minutes. Adam then says to her: “You are my wife, I can do whatever I want to you. » According to Marie, her husband sexually assaulted her more than a hundred times.

Their daughter tries to impose herself

In a heartbreaking scene, their daughter tried to save her mother during an attack. “Leave my mother alone,” she had ordered her father, who had finally left. Subsequently, to avoid any intervention from his daughter, Adam attacked the victim in the basement, with the door locked. Their daughter knocked on the door in vain.

After undergoing an operation, Marie had the misfortune of lighting a candle in her house. ” It’s my house. No candle,” Adam said. He then grabbed the victim exactly where she had undergone her surgery. He would kill her, he said.

When the victim called 911 in 2020, Adam’s mother and sister once again tried to convince her to withdraw her complaint. This time she refused. His nightmare was finally over.

At trial, Adam denied responsibility throughout. He even offered a very surprising defense of sexual assault: certain intrusive gestures were only intended to treat his wife’s constipation problem. This was the practice in his country, he argued. Cock-and-bull story ” [a cock-and-bull story]according to the judge, who rejected his version.

No remorse

Even today, Adam has no remorse. ” For him, [la version des victimes] is nothing but lies. Clearly, he has no introspection,” Judge Leblond said on Tuesday.

The Crown demanded seven years in penitentiary, against two years for the defense. To justify a reduced sentence, the defense cited the offender’s health problems. The judge did not accept this argument. He also refused to disqualify Adam from being placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 20 years.

“The absence of remorse and introspection are indicators that the accused could very well reoffend in a context of domestic violence,” ruled the judge.

* Fictitious first names, to protect the identity of the victims