A retired Drummondville English teacher who had relationships with two underage students during his career and even got one of them pregnant could now be sentenced to two years in prison.
“I feel a lot of anger. I blame myself for allowing myself to be manipulated so easily. “25 years later, I’m still living with the consequences,” one of Marc Gignac’s victims said in court.
The 64-year-old former teacher admitted last May to sexually exploiting two underage students. Crown prosecutor Vicky Smith this morning recommended a two-year prison sentence.
In the 1990s, he was an English teacher in Drummondville and maintained a relationship with a first-year student for more than two years. She was in third grade at Jeanne Mance School when they met. He was 18 years older than her.
“They fell in love,” I put the word in quotation marks. Their relationship was secret. The Lord was aware of his status as a teacher,” explained Me Vicky Smith.
Tolerated by the DPJ
The DPJ was even informed about this because the teenager was in a foster family at the time. “Tolerance is not a mitigating factor. It is not because the defendant had the consent of a guardian that these acts are not prohibited by the Criminal Code,” Mr. Smith emphasized.
A few years later he did the same thing again with a 16-year-old student. He was 38 years old at the time.
The teenager was reserved and interested in sports, just like her teacher. Gignac wrote down her contact information in his yearbook so he could see her again. The relationship began when he was no longer her teacher.
But once again contacts were made out of sight. “The defendant is aware that the fact that he had a relationship with a former student had an impact on his employment,” said prosecutor Me Smith.
An abortion
The teenager even became pregnant and had to have an abortion. She also contracted a sexually transmitted infection, which led to health problems.
Insomnia, agoraphobia and anxiety: “My consumption of alcohol and food increased to numb my feelings and discomfort. “I don’t feel like I’ve regained control of my life,” testified the woman who hopes to turn the tide.
Both victims had their first sexual experiences.
Photo Erika Aubin
Marc Gignac, a former Drummondville high school English teacher, walks behind his lawyer, Me Jasmin Laperle Marquis.
The teacher’s position of authority must be viewed as an aggravating factor, says the prosecutor.
“A minor victim can never be held responsible, even if he initiates certain actions, due to the relationship of trust and prior manipulation by the adult. “It is up to the adult to put up the barrier,” said Me Smith.
“We must have this peace of mind as parents and as a society when we send our children to education,” she emphasized.
The defense attorney instead suggested house arrest and a temporary 90 days in prison. The risk of a repeat is low and Gignac has expressed remorse and regret, argued Me Jasmin Laperle.
Judge Conrad Chapdelaine made the decision under advice. In another case, Gignac was acquitted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student during a party at a local bar.
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