Betrayal, fear of men, difficulties with authority; Victims of a Quebec soccer coach who lured 28 victims testified Tuesday to the ravages of this sexual crime which sometimes goes under the radar. The public prosecutor also suggested the imposition of an exemplary sentence of 10 years.
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Most of Félix-Antoine Bédard’s victims were between 12 and 14 years old. Almost all of them knew him since he was their soccer coach.
But in the evening, behind the screen of his phone, the 28-year-old man became “FelipeFootball”, a supposed teenager with whom they developed a friendship which, however, quickly devolved into sexuality.
“When I found out, my legs went limp, I wasn’t able to say a word. I felt betrayed,” one of the teenagers told Judge Frank D’Amours on Tuesday, as part of the observations on the sentence to be imposed.
The web predator was a trusted person for them. A competent trainer. An adult in authority. All these certainties vanished when they understood who Félix-Antoine Bédard really was.
Long sentence requested
Given the large number of 28 victims and the long list of charges, the prosecutor in the case, Ms.e Geneviève-Corriveau, pleaded for the imposition of a long penitentiary sentence of 10 years. This would be a severe sentence for these luring offenses and for making sexually explicit material accessible to minors without there being physical contact with the victims.
“Together, we arrived at a total of 23 years, according to the calculation carried out. But by returning to proportionality, the sentence must be reduced,” underlined the prosecutor.
“I lost confidence in people of authority, especially soccer coaches and especially guys,” said one of the victims, who said she felt like she was disappointing her mother who had warned her “to do not accept just anyone on social networks.
“It’s difficult to trust, to know that a coach is in control, in authority. I am always afraid that an event like this will happen again, that a coach that I think is correct is not” – a victim
Some of the young girls also explained that they left soccer after the event, unable to combine their love of the sport and the after-effects of Bédard’s passage in their lives.
Three years on defense
In defense, Me Mathieu Giroux, for his part, suggested to Judge Frank D’Amours a sentence of three years, from which the accused’s pre-trial detention should be deducted, which counts for almost two and a half years. Bédard could therefore be released within six months, according to this suggestion.
“We are not talking about a predator, an aggressor,” emphasized the defense lawyer. “We are talking about an individual with problems which pushed him to take these actions, but towards whom we must not give up.”
Félix-Antoine Bédard also took the stand to ask for forgiveness from the victims, admitting to having “a problem of sexual deviance, an attraction towards adolescent girls”.
“I apologize to the coaching profession for the damage I have created. I notice that young people are more suspicious of them, but they are good people. It was me who was the exception in that and who did things that made no sense” – Félix-Antoine Bédard
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“I intend to do everything that I am asked to do to heal and become a better person,” said the man who admitted to having minimized the impact of his actions on the victims. “I haven’t been able to forgive myself.”
The judge is expected to make his decision in January.
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