“Clandestine” abortion in Montreal | An “odious and barbaric” act, says the judge

A “clandestine” abortion performed by a pseudo-doctor. With barbecue skewers. To Montreal. In 2024. This is the ordeal experienced by an asylum seeker, under the yoke of a spouse who threatened to “cut her into pieces”. This beneficiary attendant in a CHSLD will remain detained until the end of his trial.

“Obhorrent. Barbaric. Violent. » Judge Salvatore Mascia did not mince his words, at the beginning of April, to describe the crimes accused of this 35-year-old Montrealer, accused of serious sexual assault. We are withholding his name so as not to identify the victim.

“The victim is vulnerable. It is shocking, in 2024, in Canada, a clandestine abortion. It’s so big. It’s so awful. It’s so barbaric,” added Judge Mascia, ordering the continued detention of the accused. The magistrate determined that releasing the accused would undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

The victim arrived in Quebec in April 2023. She has no status in the country. She meets the accused at the Temple of Glory church. They quickly become a couple. According to the evidence presented at the release inquiry, Mr. began to beat his partner with a belt. He slaps her and pulls her hair.

“For six months, Monsieur has been aggressive with her, he is violent. He mentions that he wants to cut it into small pieces and throw the pieces in the snow,” detailed Crown prosecutor M.^e Sandra Tremblay during the hearing.

At that time, the accused worked as a beneficiary attendant at the private CHSLD Le Cardinal, in eastern Montreal. “We ensured that patient safety was not compromised. No one internally complained about his behavior,” he told The Press the general director of the establishment, Anne-Marie Cyr. He has been suspended with pay since his arrest.

At the beginning of January 2024, Madame is pregnant. Even though she wants to keep the child, her partner demands that she have an abortion. He believes he does not have enough money to pay the hospital bills and expenses related to the child. He therefore called on his accomplice, a “doctor” friend, to carry out the abortion, according to the Crown’s evidence.

The pseudo-doctor is obviously used to it. His abortion paraphernalia is made up of cotton swabs, wooden barbecue skewer style rods, large toothpicks, cotton and a syringe, details the Crown. The procedure is worthy of another century.

“The accused will hold and press on the stomach of the complainant during the intervention”, describes M^e Tremblay.

In the end, the “doctor” tells the accused to repeat the procedure for four days, which he will do, according to the evidence presented. However, Madame’s condition is deteriorating. She bleeds continuously. One day, she calls her brother telling him that she is thinking of dying. His brother then called 911. The Montrealer was arrested shortly after.

The so-called “doctor” has still not been arrested. However, he “seems to have been spotted” on social networks, said M^e Tremblay in the courtroom. The prosecutor does not know whether this man had the right to practice medicine in Quebec.

Before the judge, the accused explained that he was an asylum seeker of Angolan origin. He has been in Canada since March 2022 with his child.

“Extremely serious”

To justify the detention of the accused, the Crown prosecutor insisted on the “heinous” nature of the actions he allegedly committed towards the victim, a “vulnerable” woman.

“She doesn’t speak the language and has just arrived in Canada. She was entirely under the yoke of the accused. It is an offense that is not only violent and heinous, but I would even say barbaric. There is talk of a clandestine abortion in 2024 in Canada. It’s extremely serious,” argued Mr.^e Tremblay.

Even the defense lawyer agreed that the alleged actions were “appalling.”

Although he accepted the prosecution’s arguments, Judge Mascia nevertheless expressed reservations about the charge chosen by the prosecutor.

“I asked myself the question while preparing the investigation,” replied the Crown prosecutor. This issue will certainly be considered at trial, but has no impact at this stage of the legal process.

The charge of aggravated sexual assault is rarely used. It involves sexual assault where the victim is injured, mutilated, disfigured, or even puts their life in danger. The maximum sentence is life in prison, while it is 10 years for the sexual assault charge.

The accused will return to court next June.