François Lamarre, a former hockey coach and retired Montreal police officer, has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the alleged sexual assault of four minors.
He faces nine charges, including gross indecency, indecent exposure, sexual assault, sexual touching and invitation to sexual touching involving four children, who were aged nine to 16 years old at the time.
The accused appeared in a wheelchair at the Longueuil courthouse on Thursday morning, accompanied by his brother. He did not have a lawyer to represent him.
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Longueuil police say the alleged incidents occurred between 1972 and 1997 in arenas, at Lamarre’s home in Greenfield Park and in his vehicle. He was between 24 and 49 years old at the time.
Lamarre was also a minor league hockey coach in the community from 1970 to 1980.
Lamarre, who retired from the Montreal police force in 1994, was arrested on Dec. 4 but released under several conditions.
The accused is expected to appear back in court on Feb. 4, 2020. His release conditions include no communication with minors under the age of 16, no contact with the complainants and no weapons.
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He is also forbidden from going near parks, community centres and arenas, and Lamarre is not allowed to change his address.
Following his arrest, investigators say they have identified 16 potential new victims last week after receiving calls from across Canada and the United States.
Police have put a call out saying they have reason to believe there are more victims.
Anyone with information about Lamarre is asked to call 450-463-7211. All the information shared will be kept confidential by police.
— With files from Global News’ Dan Spector