A “mononcle” guilty of sexually abusing his 11-year-old niece, two decades ago, got away with house arrest, to the disappointment of his victim who is still happy that he is now labeled sex offender.
“I would have liked him to go for a walk in prison to see what I’ve been through all this time; I swallow the pill quietly, but I still want to get involved in the fight against sexual violence, to show that it is possible to get up and stand up in front of your attacker, ”explains Kim Bernard, the victim of Daniel Côté.
Photo courtesy, Pierre-Olivier Garant
Kim Bernard, during the verdict of the aggressor Daniel Côté at the Sherbrooke courthouse in January.
–
–
–
Côté, a 56-year-old resident of Nantes in the Eastern Townships, had committed his crimes in 1998, when the victim was only 11 years old. During the trial, the latter had lifted the order prohibiting identification, so that we can name her, just like her attacker.
His first crime occurred in a trailer, when he had served strong alcohol to Ms. Bernard. The event had ended in a bedroom, as Côté was on top of the victim and the pedophile’s brother entered the room.
“Like a piece of meat”
Other events occurred in a car, while Côté “was aggressive and sneered at the same time as he insulted him, because he claimed that it was a game”, explained the judge last week at the courthouse from Sherbrooke.
The victim had then felt “like a piece of meat” and had to struggle.
The last event occurred in the family residence, and the victim had to bite the pedophile to stop the touching.
The latter was then gone, not without having kicked the girl in the face.
But even though he got away with 20 months in home jail and 150 hours of community service, with the defense suggesting 90 days to serve weekends and the Crown calling for 30 months in jail, Bernard , who works as a nurse, does not let down, far from it.
Sensitization
“There is an awareness movement to do, I want to give lectures, turn my experience into something positive for others,” she said. It could perhaps also make future aggressors think. “
But even if the legal process was arduous, that she was isolated for a long time by her relatives who supported her uncle, she does not regret having lodged a complaint, quite the contrary, since justice has been done.
“I understand that people want to denounce [sur les réseaux sociaux], but maybe there are some who are wrongly accused, maybe also people who should be on the sex offender registry will not be. I wonder if, like that, justice is really obtained. It’s a double-edged sword, ”concluded Ms. Bernard of the wave of denunciations that hit Quebec in recent weeks.
–
