Five years of prison for touching children

Courtesy
Roger Lepage and Jean-Marc St-Hilaire.

VAT New

Wednesday, 13 December 2017 20:18

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 20:18

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Two men, arrested during the operation “Malaise” in the winter of 2016, have been condemned to five of prison Wednesday in the palais de justice of Montreal for touching children.

Roger Lepage and Jean-Marc St-Hilaire, respectively four and nine victims, children months to 14 years.

The judge who gave this verdict has not been kind to the accused by pronouncing his sentence.

“You have seriously compromised the lives of young people victims, you are predators,” he said.

The sentence of five years in prison, less time already served by the two men, has been decided on one suggestion common to the Crown and the defence.

“Preventive detention has been served by these two men and all the people involved in the project, “Malaise” is difficult, because they are warned, they are not integrated with the rest of the population,” he informed Me Mia Manocchio, defense attorney.

For its part, the Crown stated that the sentence was “appropriate” in the circumstances,

“We wanted to avoid a trial and avoid people to testify,” said the Crown prosecutor, Ms. Cynthia Gyenizse.

In total, 18 people had been arrested during the operation “Discomfort,” conducted in January and February 2016.

Eleven have pleaded guilty, two are subject to conditions and a person has been found unfit to stand trial.

Three cases are still pending and a trial is expected in February next.