Trudel: Brother Rejean Trudel fms

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Trudel picture with dog handout croppedRejean Trudel

formerly a brother with the Marist Brothers (fms).

Trudel was a former deputy director of Patro Lokal, a shelter for young boys in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec run by the Marist Brothers.

Charged late 2014 – charges relate to allegations of forcible fondling and oral sex with several boys between 1976 and 1982.  Trudel, aged 71,  denies any wrong-doing. Also charged with him was Marist Brother Daniel Cournoyer fms.

Also named in a class action lawsuit.

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November 2014:  Charged

1976-1982:  working at Patro Lokal, a shelter for boys with family problems in Saint-Hyacinbthe, Quebec (M)

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Former Que. priest accused of sexual assault says he’s innocent

Toronto Sun

Josee Hamelin, QMI Agency

Sunday, February 08, 2015, 3:30 PM

Rejean Trudel. (Handout)

SAINT-HYACINTHE, Que. – A former priest accused of forcibly fondling and engaging in oral sex with several boys between 1976 and 1982 says he did nothing wrong.

Rejean Trudel, 71, was a deputy director of Patro Lokal, a shelter for 12- to 17-year-old boys with family problems in Saint-Hyacinthe, a Quebec town about 60 km east of Montreal.

The shelter was run by the Marist Brothers, an offshoot of the Catholic Church dedicated to education. He was arrested in November after five former residents of the shelter filed complaints.

Now, he’s come forward to deny any wrongdoing.

“The young people in our care were like our own children,” he said.

According to Trudel, who retired from the priesthood about 25 years ago, a majority of the kids in his care had mental health problems and struggled with alcohol or drugs. Many continue to battle those problems today.

He says one boy who came forward has also said that the best years of his life were spent under the care of Patro Lokal.

“Do you really think he would have said that if I had been raping him twice a day, like he alleges?” Trudel asked, adding that if any wrongdoing had taken place, the boys would have confided in the cook, who acted as a mother to many of them.

“At the time, just putting your hand on their shoulder would have been looked down on,” he said. “Sometimes they would jump in your arms for a hug, but you had to keep distant.”

Aside from criminal charges against Trudel and another priest, the Marist Brothers face a class-action suit from the five boys, alleging that the priests used “positions of authority to gain the teens’ confidence in order to commit physical and sexual abuse.”

One victim says that at the time, he thought the abuse was a normal part of a father-son relationship.

Trudel says he holds no bitterness towards his accusers.

“One of them made allegations on Facebook, and I encouraged them to file a complaint with police,” he said.

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Appearance of two Marist Brothers for indecent assault

Radio-Canada

20 November 2014

{Google translation – scroll down for original French text)

Trudel shackled CBC Radio Canada website 20 Nov 2014 Photo Kanine Bastien

Réjean Trudel à son arrivée au palais de justice de Saint-Hyacinthe. Photo : Karine Bastien

 

Two members of the congregation of the Marist Brothers appeared this morning in Saint-Hyacinthe courthouse to meet with indecent assault on young charges.

The crimes Réjean Trudel and Daniel Cournoyer, aged 70 and 68 years respectively, back to the 70s and 80s.

The events would have unfolded at home hosting Patro Lokal for troubled youth, run by the Marist Brothers.

Patro Lokal was a private nursing home that belonged to the congregation. Troubled youth who lived there were admitted on a voluntary basis.

Trudel Patro Lokal

This is last spring that former tenants Patro Lokal complained to the police for sexual abuse by Réjean Cournoyer Daniel Trudel brothers.

A dozen victims from being revealed, a class action was also filed a civil action against the Congregation of the Marist Brothers.

The Sûreté du Québec, which continues the investigation, invites people who may have information or who have been victims of the two accused to contact the central criminal information.

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Two priests arrested in St-Hyacinthe for alleged sex abuse decades ago

Montreal Gazette

Published on: November 19, 2014
Last Updated: November 19, 2014 2:03 PM EDT

Anne Sutherland, Montreal Gazette

Members of the SQ regional inquiry division arrested two men Wednesday morning who are alleged to have sexually abused minors in a group home during the 1970s and 1980s.

Réjean Trudel, 70, and Daniel Cournoyer, 68, will appear at the St-Hyacinthe courthouse on Thursday to face charges of indecent exposure to adolescents under the age of 16.

The two priests worked at a community centre called Patro Lokal, run by the Frères maristes. Young boys in difficulty or from violent homes often spent time living there.

The men are named in a class-action suit by former residents alleging they sexually and psychologically abused the boys during the late ’70s and early ’80s.

The Sûrété du Québec would like anyone with information on these two men and their actions to call the central number at 1-800-659-4264.

asutherland@montrealgazette.com

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Marist Brothers of St. Hyacinthe have abused teenagers

LeCourrier de Saint-Hyacinthe

02 October 2014

Google translation – scroll down for original French text

By Jennifer Blanchette

Marist Brothers established in Saint-Hyacinthe have abused adolescents living in Patro Lokal, a residential facility located on the street Pratte between 1970 and 1986. Photo Saint-Hyacinthe History Center

A resident of St. Valerian has initiated a class action against the Marist Brothers for sexual and psychological abuse allegedly committed in a former shelter operated by the religious group in Saint-Hyacinthe, in the 70s and 80s.

The center was named Patro Lokal Pratte on the street in the old novitiate of the Marist Brothers, a group now known as the Rivat works. The large T-shaped building of the congregation is now occupied by the Municipal Housing Office of the City of Saint-Hyacinthe.

Between 1970 and 1986, Lokal Patro hosted on a voluntary basis, several teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds and served as a “welcome home” in which “the brothers took the place of parental authority,” it said in the petition initiated by the Valériennois Joel COSPEREC.

According to the document, Mr. COSPEREC suffered incessant sexual abuse by a member of the religious congregation, Brother Réjean Trudel, he arrived at the center in 1977 until he left four years later.

13 years old at the time, Joel COSPEREC took refuge at the Patro Lokal to escape her alcoholic and abusive father who was expelled from the family home.

Invited to stay at the shelter by Brother Trudel, Mr. COSPEREC was then seen in him a “savior” and “foster father”.

“About six months after his arrival, Trudel Brother gestures of affection for it [was] became more insistent,” describes the query.

Nervous and anxious, the young man had tried to discuss the situation with his attacker, the latter denying the facts and even going as far to humiliate the rest of the group of teenagers.

It was only in 2010, during a reunion with former “host brothers,” Mr. COSPEREC realized he was not alone in suffering abuse during his time at the Patro Lokal .

The man now 51 years old felt too confused and ashamed before to denounce the abuses he suffered, says the court document.

A dozen people have so far joined the Association of Friends of Lokal Patro Saint-Hyacinthe, the organization that acts as the applicant for the event, according to what was said the lawyer of the group, Ms. Marie Corriveau -Josée the Montreal daily Le Devoir.

The plaintiffs also accuse two other brothers of sexual abuse, while insisting that the rest of the congregation “could not ignore the acts of its religious, [it] has hidden their actions, and to the detriment of minors “.

The Association claims the sum of $ 250,000 per victim for all damages suffered as well as 150 additional $ 000 in punitive and exemplary damages.

The file will be presented in the Superior Court at the courthouse in Saint-Hyacinthe October 10 in order to obtain the authorization to institute a class action.
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LeCourrier de Saint-Hyacinthe

Recours collectif

Des Frères maristes de Saint-Hyacinthe auraient abusé des adolescents

2 Octobre 2014

Par Jennifer Blanchette

Un résidant de Saint-Valérien a initié un recours collectif contre des Frères maristes pour des abus sexuels et psychologiques qui auraient été commis dans un centre d’hébergement autrefois opéré par le groupe religieux à Saint-Hyacinthe, dans les années 70 et 80.

Le centre nommé Patro Lokal était situé sur la rue Pratte dans l’ancien noviciat des Frères maristes, un groupe aujourd’hui connu sous le nom des Oeuvres Rivat. Le grand bâtiment en forme de T de la congrégation est désormais occupé par l’Office municipal d’habitation de la Ville de Saint-Hyacinthe.

Entre 1970 et 1986, le Patro Lokal a hébergé, sur une base volontaire, plusieurs adolescents provenant des milieux défavorisés et faisait office de « maison d’accueil » dans laquelle « les Frères tenaient lieu de l’autorité parentale », peut-on lire dans la requête initiée par le Valériennois Joël Cosperec.

Selon le document, M. Cosperec aurait subi des sévices sexuels incessants de la part d’un des membres de la congrégation religieuse, le Frère Réjean Trudel, de son arrivée au centre en 1977 jusqu’à son départ quatre ans plus tard.

Âgé de 13 ans à l’époque, Joël Cosperec s’était réfugié au Patro Lokal pour fuir son père alcoolique et violent qui l’avait expulsé du logement familial.

Invité à séjourner au centre d’hébergement par le Frère Trudel, M. Cosperec avait alors vu en lui « un sauveur » et un « père d’accueil ».

« Environ six mois après son arrivée, les gestes d’affection du Frère Trudel à son égard [étaient] devenus plus insistants », décrit la requête.

Nerveux et angoissé, le jeune homme avait tenté de discuter de la situation avec son agresseur, ce dernier niant les faits et allant même jusqu’à l’humilier devant le reste du groupe d’adolescents.

Ce n’est qu’en 2010, lors de retrouvailles avec d’anciens « frères d’accueil », que M. Cosperec a réalisé qu’il n’aurait pas été le seul à subir des sévices lors de son passage au Patro Lokal.

L’homme aujourd’hui âgé de 51 ans se sentait trop confus et honteux auparavant pour dénoncer les abus dont il a été victime, souligne le document de cour.

Une dizaine de personnes ont jusqu’à maintenant rejoint l’Association des amis du Patro Lokal de Saint-Hyacinthe, l’organisme qui agit à titre de requérante pour la cause, selon ce qu’a affirmé l’avocate du groupe, Me Marie-Josée Corriveau au quotidien montréalais Le Devoir.

Les demandeurs accusent également deux autres frères d’abus sexuel, tout en insistant sur le fait que le reste de la congrégation « ne pouvait ignorer les actes de ses religieux, [qu’elle] a camouflé leurs agissements, et ce, au détriment des mineurs ».

L’Association réclame la somme de 250 000 $ par victime pour l’ensemble des préjudices subis ainsi que 150 000 $ supplémentaires à titre de dommages punitifs et exemplaires.

Le dossier sera présenté en Cour supérieure au Palais de justice de Saint-Hyacinthe le 10 octobre afin d’obtenir l’autorisation d’exercer le recours collectif.

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