Former teacher guilty of sexual abuse: his sentence postponed because it was written in French

A former English-speaking teacher who sexually abused young boys he taught religion to was denied his sentence on Thursday because the decision was written only in French, while the accused demanded proceedings in English.

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“The translation of the judgment from French to English is not ready, it is beyond my control,” explained Judge Guylaine Rivest at the Montreal courthouse.

Sitting in the courtroom, one of Robert Charpentier’s victims lowered his head in frustration, before noting the next hearing date, telling himself that he would have to return to court again, and hoping that next time would be the right one.

“It’s frustrating, of course, but there’s nothing I can do… It would have been OK if the judge had read the decision in French, even if it meant having a translation later,” the complainant said as he left the courtroom.

Language conflict

He then recalled that the guilty verdict in December 2022 had been read in French, and that the English version came later.

Except that since then, there have been changes to the law and the linguistic issue in court has come to the forefront of current events.

“This is the cornerstone of the linguistic guarantees set out in the Criminal Code. A judge must express himself in the official language of the accused throughout the proceedings,” the Court of Appeal ruled in ordering that an alleged English-speaking drug trafficker undergo a new trial, because the proceedings had been conducted mainly in French.

For its part, the Quebec government had amended the Charter of the French Language, requiring judges who render decisions in English to provide a French version “immediately and without delay.” A judge had invalidated this law in his case in order to limit delays as much as possible.

The victim is waiting

These linguistic rules have caused several delays in legal cases and, this Thursday, it was Robert Charpentier’s victim who paid the price, even if he tries to remain positive about the situation.

“It’s difficult, but we have no choice,” said the plaintiff, whose identity is protected by the court. “At this point, I just want to know [la sentence] to keep moving forward in life… I hope it will be over next time.”

Charpentier, now 76, will remain free while waiting to see when his case will finally proceed. He was found guilty of gross indecency in December 2022, two years after the victims filed complaints for the crimes he suffered in the 1980s and 1990s.