Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick)
Published Friday August 26th, 2011
Adam Huras
Telegraph-Journal
FREDERICTON – A victim of Charles Picot– a former Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to jail earlier this week – says he wants a meeting with Premier David Alward to present ideas on how to better protect young people from sexual predators.
Photo: Canadaeast News Service Archive
Charles Picot
Derek LaPointe, who has broken his silence after being sexually assaulted by the northern New Brunswick priest more than three decades ago, is advocating for longer sentences that focus on rehabilitation.
Picot was sentenced this week in Campbellton provincial court to eight months in jail after being found guilty of indecent assault in connection with an incident involving LaPointe more than 30 years ago.
“My biggest concern is that during the sentencing the judge emphasized how serious it is when someone such as a priest or teacher, when they betray the trust of a child,” LaPointe said. “It affects the entire community.
“But then the judge delivers the sentence and its only eight months, despite what has been labelled a grave portrayal of public trust. We have to put some weight in the law.”
LaPointe went to police more than a year ago to detail what happened when he was in his early teens.
In court he testified that he met Dalhousie priest Charles Picot while a boy scout at about 14 years old.
Picot had invited him into the rectory of the church. He sat LaPointe on his lap and shortly thereafter put his hand down the front of LaPointe’s pants and groped the boy.
“I’m fortunate that what was done to me didn’t destroy me,” LaPointe said. “It set me back quite a few years, but other men have been devastated by this.”
LaPointe said the province needs to tie mandatory rehabilitation programming to jail sentences to ensure that the punishment of a first offence is strong enough to prevent further offences.
“I don’t just want to see him or any other person that offends be thrown into a cell, and then they throw away the key,” LaPointe said. “But I do believe that there needs to be decent programming incorporated with a facility that specializes in this and then make it mandatory that these men and women who offend have to be involved in this in order to be released.”
Between 1975 and 1993, Picot served as a priest in parishes across northern New Brunswick, including Dalhousie, Campbellton, Lamèque and Bathurst.
In 1993, he served seven months in jail for two counts of sexual assault and one of indecent assault.
New Brunswick’s highest court has also ordered a new trial for Picot who was originally acquitted on another indecent assault charge.
He will be tried again following a 2-1 decision last week by a three-judge panel of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.
Picot was accused of committing the assault against a parishioner, Michael Jensen, who was 13 at the time. Jensen asked the court not to place a publication ban on his name.
Jesse Robichaud, spokesman for the Premier’s Office, said Alward would not comment on individual meetings. Attorney General spokesman Paul Harpelle declined to comment.
“I really want to be respectful of the premier and not go in demanding like a bull in a china shop, but I do want to emphasize to him that it is serious,” LaPointe said. “Short sentences are just like a slap in the face saying it wasn’t that big of a deal to the province.”
This came out in our weekly newspaper “L’Étoile”
http://letoile.jminforme.ca/opinion/article/1441484
J’aimerais ajouter à l’article paru dans l’Étoile le 1er septembre 2011, intitulé «La prison pour Charles Picot». J’ai assisté au procès de ce prêtre pédophile à Campbellton le 23 août dernier.
Se faire abuser une fois, c’est une fois de trop, mais à mon grand désarroi, j’ai été témoin d’une victime qui subissait encore de l’abus! Le procès s’est déroulé entièrement en français et la victime, Derek LaPointe, est unilingue anglophone. Du mieux que j’ai pu, j’ai traduit pour Derek, parce qu’il ne comprenait pas. Bravo pour le bilinguisme! Derek a voyagé de Toronto à Campbellton à au moins trois reprises et à une de ces occasions, ce fut pour entendre son agresseur plaider non coupable. Passer au travers de ces procès, avec tout le stress et les dépenses associées, pour finalement le trouver coupable et en surplus, pour ajouter de la colère à l’injure, une sentence de seulement 8 mois!
Dans le feu de l’action, j’ai oublié de demander au procureur quelle aurait été la sentence s’il avait plaidé coupable en premier lieu? Combien de temps et d’argent le système judiciaire aurait-il épargné et quel message, selon lui, le système envoie-t-il aux autres victimes qui voudraient dénoncer leurs agresseurs? Doit-on passer au travers la bureaucratie de la justice pour que l’agresseur ait seulement une sentence de 8 mois de prison, quand on sait, qu’après 1/6 de sa peine, il peut demander une libération conditionnelle comme peut le faire le père Lévi Noël?
Je vous assure que Derek a été très clément dans l’impact des séquelles envers son agresseur et a aidé le juge dans son jugement. Je suis loin d’être convaincu que Derek réalise l’impact réel que les abus ont eu sur sa vie.
Au tribunal, je n’ai pas compris ce que l’avocat a voulu exprimer dans l’argument de la défense lorsqu’il a dit : «Vous savez, M. le juge, ce que l’église passe à travers, avec les stigmates rattachés aux scandales de la pédophilie, comme le cas de Lévi Noël et j’en passe». Stigmates ou pas, on ne peut pas ignorer la réalité d’un crime!
En passant, j’aimerais féliciter Derek LaPointe pour sa ténacité à vouloir rencontrer le premier ministre David Alward. Cette rencontre vise à réviser les droits des victimes, changer les lois sur la protection de l’enfance qui datent de 1980; et en dernier lieu, mais non de moindre importance, augmenter l’amende pour la personne qui ne rapporte pas aux autorités qu’elle doute ou sait qu’un enfant se fait abuser de quelque façon que ce soit. Cette amende de 500 $ est ridicule, quand on sait qu’elle est de 500 000 $ pour une personne qui fait une copie d’un film qu’il ou elle vient de louer au dépanneur du coin. Je crois que notre premier ministre va comprendre et faire la distinction entre la valeur d’un film et un enfant qui représente notre avenir.
Lowell Mallais
Tracadie-Sheila
English:
I would add to the article in the Star on September 1, 2011, entitled “Charles Picot prison.” I attended the trial of the priest pedophile in Campbellton on August 23.
Being abused one time is one time too many, but to my dismay, I witnessed a victim who suffered more abuse! The trial was conducted entirely in French and the victim, Derek LaPointe, is a unilingual anglophone. The best I could, I translated for Derek, because he did not understand. Congratulations on bilingualism!
Derek has traveled from Toronto to Campbellton at least three times and one of these occasions, it was to hear his attacker plead not guilty. Pass through these trials, with all the stress and costs associated to finally find him guilty and in addition, to add anger to injury, a sentence of only eight months!
In the heat of the moment, I forgot to ask the prosecutor what the sentence would have been if he had pleaded guilty in the first place? How much time and money the court system would have saved it and what message he believes the system sends to other victims who would denounce their abusers? Going through the bureaucracy of justice and the attacker has only a sentence of eight months in prison, when we know that, after sixth of his sentence is served, he can apply for parole as can father Levi Noel can!
I assure you that Derek has been very lenient, in his impact statement to his attacker and helped the judge in his decision. I am far from convinced that Derek realizes the true impact that the abuse had on his life.
In court I did not understand what the lawyer wanted to express in the defense argument when he said: “You know, Judge, that the church goes through with the stigma attached to the scandals of pedophilia, as the case of Levi Noel and so on. ” Stigma or not, we can not ignore the reality of a crime!
By the way, I want to congratulate Derek LaPointe for his tenacity to want to meet with Prime Minister David Alward. This meeting aims at reviewing the rights of victims, change the laws on child protection which date back to 1980, and last, but not less important, increase the fine for the person who does not report to authorities that ‘It may or knows a child is being abused in any way whatsoever. This $ 500 fine is ridiculous when you consider it is $ 500 000 fine for a person who makes a copy of a film he or she has just rented the corner store. I think our Prime Minister will understand and distinguish between the value of a film and a child, that is our future.
Lowell Mallais
Tracadie-Sheila
Thanks Lowell, and good for you for getting that into the paper in black and white.
Derek is a unilingual anglophone? I didn’t realize that. I thought he perhaps spoke some French but far from suffice to get by in court.
And you, who happened to be in court to lend support to Derek, actually did ALL the translating for him?
Did the judge ask you to do the translating? or the Crown? or, did they just watch and let you assist Derek without comment?
What would have happened had you not been there?