“The sentence serves to punish a heinous crime, the long-term offender order serves to prevent a repeat offense,” said Crown prosecutor Mr. Éric Thériault.
The Crown called the psychologist from the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel, Marc-André Lamontagne, during this first day of hearing. He explained his working method and how he came to the conclusion that Patrice St-Amand should be declared a long-term offender for the maximum period of 10 years.
The events occurred more than five years ago. The victim, Sylvie Lachapelle, wants to put an end to this story. The one who still lives with significant after-effects of the attack was also very emotional when leaving the courtroom. She hopes the sentence will serve to protect other women.
“I’m going to be here until the end. I can’t wait until it’s over. It’s intense and painful, I just can’t wait for it to end,” she said.
The victim, Sylvie Lachapelle, attended the hearings. (Le Nouvelliste)
Testimony of the expert
In court, the psychologist claimed that Patrice St-Amand’s evaluation took 21 hours when on average, the exercise takes around 6 hours.
It is a poor portrait of the accused which was drawn up by the expert in forensic psychology and assessment of the risk of reoffending. He recalled at several points that for Patrice St-Amand it is “always the fault of others” and that “everyone lies”. He also highlighted the accused’s “very, very, little empathy”, a very strong overestimation of himself and an inability to question himself.
In his testimony, the expert also indicated that Patrice St-Amand did not qualify as psychopathy. He also clarified that he still presented a “good number of characteristics” associated with psychopathic delinquents, but that he did not have “the overall picture”. According to his assessment, the accused is in the upper third of the comparison sample.
The psychologist concludes that there is a significant and above-average risk of recidivism and affirms that Patrice St-Amand meets the behavioral criteria to be declared a long-term offender “and this for as long as possible”.
“Offenders who present a similar risk are approximately 60% more likely than the average offender to be charged with a violent contact offense. Five years after their release, approximately half of them committed a violent reoffending, while after 12 years, only a third have not reoffended,” reads his 64-page report.
In his conclusions, he also highlights an escalation of offenses, but above all the seriousness of the violence of these offenses in recent years. He notes that “Mr. St-Amand’s introspection and accountability for his violence and risk remain practically absent” and that he shows no empathy or remorse towards the victims.
The prosecution also filed the numerous criminal records of Patrice St-Amand at the end of the day, Wednesday.
In his report, the psychologist notes that “egocentrism, grandiosity, pessimism, distrust, cynicism, disempowerment, projection of blame outward, justification of violence, chronic anger and “Substance abuse constitutes a worrying mix, likely to lead to further outbursts of rage and violence.”
Remember that Patrice St-Amand was found guilty in October 2023 of attempted murder of Sylvie Lachapelle. Surveillance video that captured the scene was entered into evidence in the trial. We saw Patrice St-Amand giving several series of blows to the victim who was inert on the ground. In total, there were 18 kicks, two punches and one knee strike. Images that the judge described as violent and shocking during his decision.
At the start of the hearing on Wednesday, Patrice St-Amand told the court that he had not managed to find a lawyer and that he was not able to proceed or defend himself alone. He even asked the Court to appoint a lawyer for him. Which he was refused.
Moreover, Judge Simon Ricard affirmed that he had had multiple chances to find a lawyer and that it would have been “unreasonable to postpone again” after five years of legal proceedings and pre-trial detention for the accused. The court insisted that the legal process must be concluded.
“You may not get two chances to participate in sentencing submissions. I know you are very intelligent, I saw it in the process […] We will still move forward in the process. I invite you to collaborate,” said Judge Simon Ricard towards the accused.
The court also referred to a document from the prison confirming that the accused had had access to means of communication on numerous occasions to consult a lawyer. A prison counselor notes hundreds of hours of use of secure computer stations and thousands of phone calls.
Throughout the proceedings, Patrice St-Amand also complained of not having the proof with him. To this end, the counselor writes that “the gentleman has at all times in his cell dozens of bags containing numerous personal effects including his proof and other documentation”, but that they were sometimes temporarily removed from his cell, for reasons of a nature safe.
Remember that the hospitalization of Patrice St-Amand in November forced the postponement of observations on the sentence to January.
The hearings will continue until Friday. Victims, including Sylvie Lachapelle, are expected to testify about the consequences of the crime through written statements that will be filed in court.
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