Bad, but, sadly, not unexpected news from Iqaluit…
Ex-priest, serial molester, former fugitive from justice, and previously convicted molester Eric Dejaeger will not spend one single more day in jail after pleading guilty to the sexual abuse of two boys and one girl in Alberta while he was a seminarian.
22 October 2015: Eric Dejaeger, ex-priest, sentenced to 5 years for Edmonton sex charges
Not one more day! Yes, true enough he was sentenced to five years for each of the three charges which finally made it through and to which he pled guilty. That sounds good. Fifteen years all up. BUT, the sentences run concurrent to the 11 years he is currently serving. That means not one single day behind bars for the damage done to those victims, and, of course, their families.
And, more.
Dejaeger is launching an appeal. It’s not clear what he is appealing, but it has to be some of the convictions from the Nunavut charges.
He’s self-representing. Perhaps he was unable to find a legal aid lawyer willing to take on the task? If he has grounds to appeal he would have no difficulty finding a lawyer to do so. So, where this fiasco will go remains to be seen. But, I must admit there is a part of me that thinks Dejaeger has settled in at the correctional facility quite nicely and just plain does not want to be relocated to a federal prison (where of course he rightly belongs and is supposed to go as soon as all the legalities are settled). An appeal will keep him hanging around Iqaluit until such time as his request for one is denied, or it is heard. As we all know, that all takes time. Meanwhile, Dejaeger will continue to nestle in Iqaluit.
Not a good news day.
My heart aches for the three Alberta victims. It seems to me such a slap in the face to tell them that, on the one hand, well, yes, their molester has been sentenced to five years on each of their charges, but on the other, that, well, he’s already serving 11 years for molesting countless other children, and that’s of course such a long long time and such a terrible hardship, and of course he’s getting to be old and his health isn’t the greatest, and, and so, well, well … we just didn’t want to be too harsh on him so we decided to give him a wee bit of break and run the sentencing on your charges concurrently with all the others, and of course we know that you’ll understand that five years for each of the charges is BIG, and you’ll understand that we in the judiciary find what he did to you and all of those other children – and, yes, dogs! – was reprehensible and abhorrent, and we really do want to send out a message that such behavior will not be tolerated by the courts so we do want to send out a strong message to that effect, and never forget for a moment that five years is a strong message which reflects our aversion to the horror of child sexual abuse and the our recognition of the long-term damage done to every child who endures such a horror, …and well, yes, it’s true the sentences will run concurrent so in truth he won’t spend a single day in jail for what he did to each of you , but truly that is not a big deal, the big deal is that he was sentenced to five years.
Where are their heads? Where?
Please keep these three victims, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers. This has been a rough four years for all. First the abuse each endured at the hands of this perverted human being. Then the torment of the years which followed the abuse. Then finding the courage to go to police. Then being run through the wringer waiting for their charges to finally be heard. Then the whittling of the charges. Then the charges shipped off to Nunavut.
They surely must feel that they have been locked out of the process from day one. And then this.
But, there is the guilty plea. Thanks be to God, he did plead guilty. However, as I see, in the end, the guilty plea has no relevance. None. Absolutely none.
A sweet sweet deal!
As for the proposed appeal, I have not the faintest idea which convictions he plans to appeal. Those poor victims will be devastated when they find out. Away they go again.
What a cruel, cold-hearted, sadistic inhumane excuse for a human being this Eric Dejaeger is.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
Well said Sylvia, I could not have said it better my self. Way to go!!!
John MacDonald
It doesn’t get any easier to watch, does it John?
Every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope in some sentencing and then WHAM!!!! they hit you with something like this fiasco. I truly do not understand how THEY think that people don’t matter. Sickening!!!
John MacDonald
The crown should appeal the concurrent sentence bugger!
But he won’t Michel, the deal was made by both parties.
John is right Michel. The Crown, unfortunately, was party to the deal.