2023-07-12 17:39:25
Investigations are still ongoing and other criminal charges could be added to the Mont d’Youville case as three former educators of the orphanage accused of sexually assaulting young residents officially appeared on Wednesday.
• Read also: Sex crimes: three former Mont d’Youville educators arrested
• Read also: Sexual assaults at Mont d’Youville: collective action authorized against the Sisters of Charity
John Anthony O’Reilly, Michel Leblanc and Reynald Hamel were all absent on Wednesday for their appearance at the Quebec courthouse. Represented by their respective lawyers, the three men are officially charged with indecent assault and other sexual offenses (see box below).
They were arrested on June 21.
The Crown prosecutor, Me Michel Bérubé, confirmed at the end of the hearing that investigations were still underway in this case. It is not impossible to see the cases of the accused grow heavier, just as it is not excluded that other stakeholders linked to Mont d’Youville are the subject of charges.
“There are ongoing investigations and files are under study. I absolutely do not exclude that charges could be filed, without however being able to identify anyone at this time, ”said the prosecutor, inviting other potential victims to come forward.
“We are here, we are ready and we have the resources”, assured the representative of the public ministry.
Years under the weight of silence
The two alleged victims involved in the O’Reilly, Leblanc and Hamel cases were present Wednesday morning, but their identities remain protected by a publication ban.
The man and the woman have a heavy heart and are impatient to finally be able to free themselves from the weight that has been suffocating them for all these years.
“I’ve been in there for more than 40 years,” dropped one of the victims, aware of the extent of the path that awaits her after this first appearance.
Jean Simard, having himself suffered abuse at Mont d’Youville, was present on Wednesday to accompany the two victims. It was important for someone who understands the feelings that inhabit them.
Pierre Paul Biron
“They are demolished these people. We are all caught in this debris, we are all in this catastrophe, this post-trauma. We now want justice to be done,” said Mr. Simard, insisting that the process is not in vain, recalling that John Anthony O’Reilly has already been sentenced to two years in prison in the past for his actions at Mont d’Youville.
560 victims in the class action
The lawyer leading the civil procedure was also present at the courthouse to support the victims.
Pierre Paul Biron
Me Simon St-Gelais indicates that new names are still added to the action initiated in 2018 and authorized in 2020.
“Every week, there are new victims who communicate with us to share what they experienced at Mont d’Youville. We are currently at more than 560 victims who have communicated with us as of today, “says the lawyer, also inviting the victims to free themselves by denouncing the abuse they have experienced.
“I think you could say that’s the tip of the iceberg and there are still victims who are at home and suffering in silence. The important thing is to move forward. We are there to support the victims, ”assures Me St-Gelais.
September 2024
The trial in the physical, sexual and psychological abuse class action is due to begin in September 2024 and is scheduled to last six months.
The court will initially have to decide the common issues, in particular whether the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale and the Sisters of Charity who in turn managed the establishment are liable for the damages. The victims will then be able to testify on their individual complaints, related to the abuses suffered.
“They stretch it as long as they can,” laments the instigator of the appeal, Jean Simard. “They are going to wait until there is a pack of dead victims, there are several who are already dead. They reduce the group by death”, adds the one who invites the government and the congregation to “stop the massacre” by collaborating rather than by hiding in silence.
The charges filed against three participants from Mont d’Youville
Reynald Hamel – 5 chefs
Indecent assault on a boy between July 1971 and April 1976 Indecent assault, sexual assault and sexual intercourse with a person under 14, then under 16, on a young girl, between May 1979 and May 1985
Michel Leblanc – 4 chefs
Indecent assault, sexual assault and sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14, then under the age of 16, on a young girl between May 1979 and May 1985
John-Anthony O’Reilly – 1 chef
Indecent assault on a young boy between July 1971 and April 1976
* Other files are still being analyzed at the office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
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