Jean-Marie Denis admitted his guilt on Wednesday to one count of indecent assault, a crime committed in 1978.
At the time of the events, the man was 31 years old and had just gotten married. On the day of the offense, he was in accommodation in Pont-Rouge looking after a nine-year-old child. His wife is absent.
He plays with the girl on the couch. “She was moving on his penis,” we can read in the summary of the facts read in court on Wednesday.
With his penis erect, Jean-Marie Denis then takes the child into the bathroom. He pulls down his pants and asks her to put her hand on his penis. The man then gives “two to three small blows” and ejaculates. The accused asks the victim not to tell his wife about it.
When Jean-Marie Denis’s wife returns home, the young girl tells what happened to her. The accused then decides to confess everything. The woman then leaves the accommodation with the child.
Jean-Marie Denis never saw his wife or the child again after the events.
The victim, now aged 52, chose to denounce the actions in March 2023.
As the offense was committed in 1978, a charge of indecent assault was filed, since the charge of sexual contact was only added to the Criminal Code in 1987. Jean-Marie Denis therefore faces the maximum penalty of the time, i.e. 5 years.
Prison now
Even if no sentence was handed down on Wednesday, the septuagenarian asked to take charge of the prison. He wanted to begin his sentence now, as he had made the necessary arrangements with his house and personal belongings.
The defense and prosecution agree to suggest a prison sentence, but do not agree on the duration. They will have to debate this element later in the summer before Judge Sandra Rioux.
By the time he receives a sentence, Jean-Marie Denis will have already completed a few months in prison.
