Saint-Laurent High School basketball players coached by three coaches accused of sexual assault endured a noxious climate characterized by inappropriate behavior that no one reported.
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That’s according to the Department of Education’s investigation, which was launched after the February 2022 arrest of the program’s director, Daniel Lacasse, and his colleagues Charles-Xavier Boislard and Robert Luu for various sex crimes.
The Bureau of Investigation obtained a copy of the document through a request for information.
Both the Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Service Center, Montreal’s Saint-Laurent High School and the Quebec Basketball Federation were aware of the problematic behavior without taking any action after receiving complaints, they said.
Collect complaints
The survey shows that when a school, the Quebec Student Sport Network or the federation receives a report through the “I am making a complaint” service, the information is not necessarily shared between the authorities.
“A trainer can therefore collect reports of unacceptable behavior […] without being the subject of a special scrutiny,” emphasizes the Ministry.
According to the report, the federal government received two complaints and the secondary school received five. However, the name of the coach targeted by these reports has been redacted.
For 20 years
The department notes that the dignity of certain basketball players has not been respected at the Saint Laurent school over the past 20 years and that a harmful culture has become established within the program.
Over the years, a large number of people have witnessed words or behavior that caused discomfort when the norm was not to act in such situations. The department therefore recommends training on bystander intervention.
It also recommends equipping schools and associations to change the culture and including in this documentation the definition of sexual exploitation: “Any person in a position of authority […] You cannot have a relationship of a sexual nature with a young person. Relationships between coaches and student-athletes cannot be allowed or normalized in schools. »
Financial irregularities
In addition, the Department’s investigation lifts the veil of shortcomings and points to a risk to the program’s overall revenues.
The fact is that part of the revenue comes from sales, registrations and entry costs at tournaments. Payments are made in cash and later deposited into school accounts. However, there is no indication that the deposits are complete.
Tracking also didn’t appear to be rigorous for the accounts of credit cards used at outdoor tournaments, for example.
A whole section of the document dealing with detected irregularities has been redacted.
The Department recommends nothing more or less than hiring an independent accounting firm to conduct an audit of Saint-Laurent High School’s basketball program.
– With Maude Boutet
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