Judge Jules Berthelot, the former massage therapist from Rimouski who was convicted of sexual assault, has decided to remain behind bars until his sentence is announced, in July.
The judge did not believe Patrick Chénard’s explanations and this is why he requested his immediate detention.
We have come to the conclusion that it is now necessary for Mr. Chénard’s freedom to be revoked […] to prevent the public from losing confidence in the administration of justicedeclared by the criminal and penal prosecution lawyer, Me Normand Morneau-Deschênes.
According to a sexological report, Patrick Chénard shows a risk of recidivism that qualifies as a medium. Also, despite the ban on doing so, he went to the workplace of one of his victims.
The court disbelieved Patrick Chénard’s explanations throughout the process and described the acts he committed as a heinous crime.
His sentence is due to be known on July 15. He will be jailed for at least three years.
Breathed loosely inside the courtroom
This decision was first expected on Friday, but due to technical problems, it was postponed until Monday.
This decision has allowed some victims to be fully round in this case. Once opened, a great sigh was heard in the room. Some tears also dripped.
It’s a definite relief, we’ve been in these procedures for over three years. There is nothing satisfying about revenge on someone […] On the other hand, it allows you to close a chapter and move on and then make sure there is justice somewhere there.said one of the victims, who could not be identified due to the publication ban.
The judge agreed with our arguments and came to the same conclusion. So, in the circumstances, obviously, we were satisfied with the decisionadded prosecutor Normand Morneau-Deschênes.
The massage therapist and kinesiologist convicted of sexual assault in January faces 11 counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation for actions that occurred, in the performance of his duties, in November 2015 in Trois-Rivières and between January 2016 and April 2018 in Rimouski.
He was acquitted of another number of sexual assaults for which no evidence was presented. In total, 11 complainants, including two minors at the time of the events, testified at the trial.
With information from Sophie Martin
Source: Radio-Canada
