Court to sentence pedophile who ‘ruined’ children’s lives
A man who served as the director general of the city of Lorraine for two decades will be sentenced in December for sexually abusing four boys.
At least two of the boys were abused during the time when he worked for the city.
Roger Lepage, 76, of Lévis, is facing the possibility of a fiveyear prison term followed by five years of close surveillance as a long-term offender when Quebec Court Judge Pierre Labelle delivers his decision in December. The sentence was part of a joint recommendation proposed by prosecutor Cynthia Gyenizse and defence lawyer Mia Manocchio at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday.
Lepage was originally arrested, along with 14 other men, early in 2016 as part of an investigation led by the Sûreté du Québec dubbed Operation Malaise. It uncovered a sophisticated, computer-savvy network of pedophiles who shared information.
After Lepage was charged in Operation Malaise, investigators learned he had abused boys over a long period of time between 1995 and 2003. Lepage worked as city manager of Lorraine between 1980 and 2000.
On Dec. 16, 2016, Lepage pleaded guilty to six child porn charges and to several other counts, including sexual interference, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching.
Gyenizse told Labelle that three of the four victims Lepage abused were unable to make victim impact statements in open court because they’re still deeply affected by what happened to them as boys. She said Lepage manipulated his victims by giving them gifts, buying them clothes and taking them to places their parents couldn’t afford. He also gave them alcohol and, in some cases, drugs.
One of the victims feels guilty to this day because he invited his friends to Lepage’s home and his boat and they were abused as well.
The one victim who was able to address the court on Thursday is now a young man (his name and age cannot be published because of a publication ban) who said he has difficulty controlling his emotions, which caused him to lose his job.
“I am now in debt and I don’t see a way out of it,” said the victim, who could be seen squeezing a stress ball inside the courtroom before and after he testified.
A special constable was strategically placed between Lepage and the two victims who were in court on Thursday. Lepage’s face reddened and he kept his eyes fixed on the floor as he listened to what the victim said.
The young man also he now hesitates every time he thinks of hugging his three-year-old niece because he wonders if it’s appropriate to touch her.
“I’d rather stay in my bubble. It’s less complicated,” the victim said, asking Labelle to accept the sentence recommendation. “He ruined the lives of many children, not just mine.”
Jean-Marc St-Hilaire, 68, of StEustache, pleaded guilty to several charges on Dec. 8 including five in a case in which he was co-accused with Lepage of having sexually abused two boys in 2000. He has a sentence hearing scheduled for Friday.
Five other men who were arrested in Operation Malaise have been sentenced already