The prosecutor, Me Karen Inkel, played the videotapes of the police interrogations. In a recording from March 28, 2022, the young boy explained how his father, now 38, bit him on the neck because he did not want to sleep.
“He bit me. I was sick. He stuck with me. He gave me a kiss. […] Dad was angry. […] He bit me. […] He was really angry.” The child added that he then cried.
The day after this event, the toddler spoke about it to his teacher. The woman testified that she took a photo of the clearly visible bite mark on the back of her neck without the student knowing. This image was entered into evidence. “His father got angry because he didn’t want to sleep. He said he bit him in his bed,” the woman said.
Also violent with his daughter
His 11-year-old sister was more talkative during her police interrogation on May 25, 2022. “Daddy was mean to me,” she said. She said “he was whining for nothing. […] He was insulting me. […] He was slapping me.”
On the videotape, the girl said her father pushed her into bed and hit her on the back because she refused to do household chores. “I screamed and cried. His hands were hard.”
Then, she indicated that she had often been punished by her father. “He made us kneel as punishment.” It could last a long time. At first she explained that it was 11 minutes. If she cried, it took longer. Then the duration had increased to over 20 minutes. Her knees hurt. “Every time he picked on us, he did that to us.”
The young teenager said she saw her father slam doors, hit the fridge and the counter. It would also have been damaged by the force of the blows. All of these events occurred over a one-year period, in 2021 and 2022.
Disturbed by her own story
In the thirty-minute video, she also indicated that her father was not violent towards her younger brother. “It was just me he didn’t like,” she mentioned.
For one of the episodes, she told the police officer that her father had strangled her mother on the edge of the stairs by grabbing her neck from behind. “He took it out on mom more. For nothing. She cried. She locked herself in the bathroom. […] He was hitting mom in the chicanes. I heard mom screaming and crying. She had bruises everywhere. No charges have been filed regarding the mother.
The accused is not his biological father. She started crying in court while watching the video clip. Judge Pierre Simard had to interrupt the hearing to allow him to regain his senses.
120 hours of community service
The accused defended himself without a lawyer. During cross-examination, he did not ask his two children or the teacher any questions. He did not present any witnesses and did not give his version. “I have nothing to say,” he simply whispered to the magistrate.
The judge found him guilty of simple assault on his son, acquitting him on the count citing injuries. “These must be of a permanent nature,” explained the magistrate. Also guilty of assault concerning his daughter. “It’s a gesture that appears a bit gratuitous,” the judge said.
Judge Pierre Simard also banned him from having firearms for ten years. (Jeannot Lévesque/Archives Le Quotidien)
The court ruled for a suspended sentence with 120 hours of community service to be completed within a year.
“The court can only tell you that it is not in agreement with your methods of teaching and discipline. But there is no proof that these methods have caused permanent damage to your two children, other than that they seem to have greatly disturbed your daughter.
— Judge Pierre Simard
A 15-month probation is added to the sentence. This provides for a ban on communicating with the two children unless the father has access rights or a decision of another court grants him this permission.
“I find that the ban on seeing my children means that I haven’t seen them for two years. It’s hard. I’ve been there since they were young.”
— Father found guilty
The father has several crimes under his belt, but not involving violence. He has already received a suspended sentence for a break-in in 2018. Records of theft, dangerous driving and drunk driving are part of his record.
“There is no situation that warrants a bite”
The Crown had suggested a sentence of 240 hours of community service, the maximum provided by law. The individual made no proposal stating that “I would like to resolve this, I am tired of pending cases. I have no arguments.”
For Me Inkel, the assault was clear on the boy.
“There is no situation that warrants a bite because the child does not lie down. […] Before coming to corporal punishment, there are other measures to put in place. This is unreasonable corporal punishment for both parties. […] If this is an adequate correction, I wonder.
— Me Karen Inkel, DPCP prosecutor
The two children presented themselves to court one at a time. Screens had been installed to avoid any contact with their accused father. The two young witnesses entered the court to sit in front of the judge to listen to the videotape. The accused subsequently entered.
