*GRAPHIC WARNING: This article contains graphic details. Discretion is advised.
A 41-year-old man was sentenced to eight years behind bars (less 193 days for time already served) for three sex-related offences involving his friend’s 14-year-old daughter.
Patrick Claude Boucher previously pleaded guilty to sexual interference, luring and child pornography.
Boucher was arrested on June 23, 2016.
The Crown was seeking a sentence of 13 years in prison. The defence was seeking four to five years.
According to an agreed statement of facts, the accused used his cell phone camera to take “close-up photographs of explicit sexual activity.” The photos of the girl were “both partially clothed and completely nude.”
Text messages between the accused’s phone and the girl’s phone “contain discussions of the sexual relationship… and are clearly for a sexual purpose,” the agreed statement of facts also said.
Boucher and a long-time female friend both had daughters who were the same age. The adults agreed to take turns caring for the two girls so both parents could work. The two girls would alternate staying at the two homes on a four-day rotation.
The woman found a letter written by her daughter on June 10, 2016, that said she was in love with the accused, court documents show.
The agreed statement of facts revealed the girl viewed the accused as a father figure, trusted him and enjoyed being around him. The court document also revealed the two “would often drink alcohol together.”
The agreed statement of facts showed the accused’s daughter saw him kiss and sleep with her friend. “She fought with him and told him to stop the relationship… She moved out of the accused’s home and began residing with her mother.”
Boucher spoke to the court and apologized on Monday morning.
The victim’s family said they do not have any intention of repairing the broken friendship with Boucher.
“That meant nothing to me at all,” the victim’s mother said of Boucher’s apology. “I will never, ever accept that.”
The woman cannot be identified due to a publication ban protecting the victim’s identity.
“No amount of custodial time is ever going to help repair the wounds for the complainants,” Crown Prosecutor Suvidha Kalra said.
“The courts have commented that offences against children are inherently grave — not just for the victims, but for society in general.”
— With files from Global’s Sarah Kraus