A three-year-old toddler was recently entrusted to a foster family because his parents were involved in organized crime, an extremely rare case which is relaunching the debate on the protection of children growing up in the underworld.
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“The director [de la protection de la jeunesse] filed abundant documentary evidence aimed in particular at demonstrating the close links of each parent with individuals with a worrying profile linked to organized crime,” we read in a recent judgment by Judge Annick Bergeron.
The magistrate ruled at the Saint-Hyacinthe courthouse that the child was the subject of “neglect” educationally and that his safety was compromised.
Note that the little boy requires special attention on a daily basis, suffering from eczema and severe food allergies. As the child’s identity is protected by law, no identifying information can be revealed.
Moreover, as a precaution, the contact details of the family who have been hosting the little one for several months are unknown to the parents.
Murder attempts
Although we do not know the reason which initially forced the intervention of the authorities, the situation is so serious that the child’s mother “lives with a permanent fear of having to protect herself”.
“Her former partner was murdered in 2015 by gunfire. The mother is herself the victim of an attempted murder when she mourns at his grave,” reports the judgment.
In 2022, her car was targeted by a gunshot while she was going to a business.
Her life took another incredible turn when she showed up at a police station to “recover” a “friend’s” firearm that had been seized during a police intervention in a bar.
The one who admitted to having used cocaine in the past, however, assured the court that she wanted to “change her life”, and wanted the father to do the same.
According to him, he lived “off the proceeds of his partner’s prostitution”.
The man was also the victim of an attempted murder, the circumstances of which were not specified by the court.
He then went to the toddler’s mother in panic, but she refused to accommodate him “because she feared for the safety of her son.”
For now, the parents, who are separated, will be entitled to organized meetings with their son, the court agreed.
“They must not minimize the risks incurred by their child in connection with their lifestyle, even if they would like to leave the past behind them,” writes Judge Bergeron.
Blind spot
The physical integrity of children is often in the blind spot of the criminal world, underlines Me Valérie Assouline, specialized in family and youth law.
“It’s rare that we talk about children in organized crime cases,” she observes. Which is [aussi] particular in this case, is that we have both parents who are in organized crime.
In the Youth Chamber, a multitude of factors can influence the court’s decision, adds retired judge Line Gosselin.
“You would be surprised to see that some serious criminals are quite aware of their lives going a little off the rails. They don’t want their children to be like them,” she says.
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