The trial of Pastor Claude Guillot, who is accused of physical and psychological abuse of children, will last three weeks. Eventually it stretched for years.
The 71-year-old man will know his verdict this Thursday at the Quebec City courthouse.
mental torture
Finallythe blow of one in six complainants who did not expect the legal process to be that long, when he filed a complaint with the police in 2014.
According to this plaintiff, the trial will be similar to what the alleged victims say they suffered at the strict Christian school of Guillot: slow and long mental torture.
That’s really how that test is, it doesn’t seem to endseeks the complainant, whose identity is protected by the publication ban.
Claude Guillot was arrested in December 2015 and his trial began in June 2018.
Judge Christian Boulet will serve the verdict while the case is returned to court for 82at day of hearing.
To understand its extent, Lise Thibeault’s legal legend is a reference.
The case of the former lieutenant-governor has been in court for more than six years. The swindler finally admitted his guilt, in the midst of a trial, at 74at day of hearing.
Clandestine school
The actions alleged against Claude Guillot will take place over three decades, first at a Baptist school in Victoriaville, where he was expelled because of his teaching methods.
Then at his residence in the Chauveau district, in Quebec, where he built an underground school in the basement of his residence.
The plaintiffs recounted that they were straightened with wooden pallets and imposed penalties such as not moving for several hours.
In addition to the punishments they condemned, they were completely isolated from the outside world, which was under the control of the pastor.
Guillot testified that he acted in the best interests of the children, in harmony with the Bible’s strict teachings.
His attorney, Susan Corriveau, examined witnesses for the prosecution.
The evaluation of the three -week trial, which was initially planned, quickly proved inadequate. The trial will have to continue, in order, to end with the appeals in June 2021.
In the face of delays and the extent of the evidence, the judge asked the lawyers on file to give him their written arguments.
Representatives of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) filed a 57-page document, while Guillot’s lawyer supported himself in six volumes.
Collective action
The pastor faces charges of assault, assault with a weapon and cause bodily harm, forced confinement and harassment, among others.
Claude Guillot, who is on conditional release pending legal process, now lives in Stoneham.
In addition to the criminal record, the plaintiffs filed class action against him, and in the Baptist churches where he served.
This case is still pending in Superior Court.
Source: Radio-Canada