A “sadistic” father sentenced to life in prison for killing his two children and his partner and who now identifies as a woman is currently being held in a men’s prison.
• Also read: Triple murder in Brossard: life imprisonment for a “sadistic” and “remorseless” father
Correctional Service Canada (CSC) confirmed by email that “Mohamad Al Ballouz is currently detained in a federal institution for men.”
Courtesy photo
Al Ballouz now identifies as female and uses the name Levana Ballouz. She was detained at the Leclerc provincial prison for women during her trial, which was held before the holidays at the Longueuil courthouse.
She had been found guilty of the murders of her boys, Zac and Eliam, aged 2 and 5, and that of their mother, Synthia Bussières, and was thus automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. .
Prison authorities
Ballouz, who represented herself, had filed a request to be sent to the Joliette detention facility, the only women’s penitentiary in Quebec. Judge Eric Downs, however, ruled that “it is not for the court to decide where the accused should serve her prison sentence.”
“It is up to the prison authorities and Canadian correctional services to assume these responsibilities and make decisions in this regard,” the magistrate then underlined.
Levana Ballouz is currently detained in an assessment center, where her dangerousness will be assessed. However, the CSC has not revealed the precise establishment where she is currently located.
At the end of this assessment, she will likely be admitted to a women’s penitentiary, since CSC allows criminals to choose the institution that corresponds to their gender identity or expression, “regardless of sex or gender marker or gender appearing on their identity documents.
Deplored self-identification
This simple self-identification was deplored by several speakers.
A retired manager of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Marie-Claude Girard, had notably indicated to the Journal that “women’s right to security has never been taken into consideration”.
“I can’t believe I have to say this: but when I’m prime minister, there will be no men detained in women’s prisons,” said the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada , Pierre Poilievre, on X, in reaction to this file.
The leader of the official opposition, currently ahead in the federal polls, then added that “this bizarre policy [permet] violent male criminals to be transferred to women’s prisons where they can attack women again.
However, CSC defends itself by specifying that “each request for accommodation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and requires a rigorous assessment of the needs and risks presented by the offender, as well as the dominant health or safety concerns, including consideration of risk mitigation strategies.
With Yves Poirier, TVA Nouvelles, and Valérie Gonthier
