Child porn raids net grade school janitor
Chief custodian at Ottawa elementary school free on bail
A janitor at an Ottawa elementary school has been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography after the biggest child pornography investigation in Quebec’s history.
Luc Lacasse, 49, who lives in Gatineau, is the chief custodian at École élémentaire catholique Montfort in the east end of Ottawa. Lacasse was arrested on school property around 7 a.m. Wednesday, said Roxanne Deevey, spokeswoman for the Conseil des écoles catholiques de l’Est de l’Ontario, the French Catholic board.
Though Lacasse has only worked at the elementary school since 2012, he has been an employee of the school board since 1986. His last job was also at an elementary school, but there have never been any documented issues about his interaction with students.
“We were reassured when the Sûreté du Québec told us that there is no reason to believe our students were involved in Mr. Lacasse’s alleged activities,” Deevey said. “No issues of this nature have ever come up.”
All employees of the school board must undergo a criminal record check in order to be employed and that check is renewed annually. Lacasse has always passed the record check.
The school board has sent a letter home to parents notifying them that Lacasse has been criminally charged, but the letter does not specifically say the charges relate to child pornography.
Deevey said that at the time the letter was drafted administration knew Lacasse would be charged but weren’t exactly sure what charges would be laid against him. Parents have been told to contact the principal of the school if they have concerns.
Lacasse has been banned from school property and is therefore not reporting to work his normal school-hours shift. The board will conduct an internal investigation but must meet with an employee before any internal disciplinary process begins. That meeting is scheduled to take place Friday.
Lacasse was one of three Gatineau men arrested and one of 28 people swept up in total as a result of Projet Mainmise, a four-month joint investigation between RCMP and Quebec provincial police, that began in June of this year. Investigators detected individuals sharing files on the Internet and began looking into their digital interactions. As part of the raids that led to the charges, police seized 28 computers, 32 USB keys and more than 1,300 CDs and DVDs. Police said they have identified a fiveyear-old boy who lives in Quebec as the only victim of the ring, but said they could find other victims once they go through the material seized. Police also said the number of images could potentially reach one million.
The arrests were carried out across Quebec from Monday to Thursday. Municipal forces in Montreal, Quebec, Gatineau, Laval, Longueuil, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, Lévis, TroisRivières, Laval, Saint-Jean-surRichelieu and Saint-Jerome were key to conducting the investigations and executing the arrests.
Lacasse was released on bail with conditions the day he was arrested. He must not communicate, be alone, or have any physical contact with children younger than 16.
He is not allowed to use the Internet and must prove to the court that all Internet service to his home has been cut off.
Lacasse is banned from all parks, recreation centres where children are present or places where children could reasonably be expected to be.
He is next scheduled to appear in Gatineau court on Jan. 20.
Quebec police said they expect more arrests to be made and more charges to be laid in the coming weeks.