A sexually insane man from Bas-Saint-Laurent admitted on Tuesday to raping and touching young girls and filming numerous women in various public places without their knowledge.
• Also read: Child pornography: arrest of a 40-year-old man in Trois-Pistoles
“Yes,” Pascal Bélanger repeated, crying in the dock, when asked if he was guilty of several charges related to sex crimes, voyeurism and the production of child pornography.
For about 20 minutes, prosecutors in the Joliette courthouse laid out the long list of egregious crimes committed by the 41-year-old man who will be arrested during the trial.
The crimes occurred from the late 2000s until the defendant's arrest, mainly in the municipalities of Mascouche and Saint-Lin-Laurentides.
Alarming discoveries
The case broke out in May 2022 when a minor victim spoke out about the sexual assault she had suffered.
According to the facts revealed in court, it later emerged that Bélanger had also abused two other girls and an adult.
Search warrants led to the discovery of highly incriminating material.
Among other things, the police discovered that the pedophile had filmed the rape of one of the victims.
“Considering the description of these videos [dans l’exposé des faits] is extremely humiliating, I will only mention the act committed,” Crown prosecutor Marie-Ève Sasseville warned in court before listing the atrocities.
In the public
Bélanger's crimes don't stop there. The police were also able to confiscate around 15,000 photos and videos that are considered voyeurism.
Bélanger, who lives in Trois-Pistoles, admitted filming women in the supermarket, shops, workplaces and gyms.
“The files show women whose focus or zoom is on the buttocks or breast(s),” the statement said.
He did the same with a neighbor, a receptionist and a masseur. Another was filmed while sleeping.
Around ten of Bélanger's victims have been identified so far. Some cannot be named due to a court order.
A pre-sentence report profiling the defendant must be prepared soon and could be presented to the court in March next year.
Me Marie-Ève Sasseville represents the prosecutor in this case, while Me Jonathan Boivin defends the defendant.
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