A man who once served as the director general of the city of Lorraine for more than two decades will be sentenced in December for having sexually abused four boys, including at least a couple during a time when he worked for the city.
Roger Lepage, 76, of Lévis, is facing the possibility of an overall five-year prison term followed by five years of close surveillance as a long-term offender when Quebec Court Judge Pierre Labelle delivers his decision in December. The sentence was part of a joint recommendation proposed by prosecutor Cynthia Gyenizse and defence lawyer Mia Manocchio, the attorneys involved in Lepage’s case, at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday.
Lepage was originally arrested, along with 14 other men, early in 2016 as part of an investigation led by the Sûreté du Québec dubbed Operation Malaise. It uncovered a sophisticated, computer-savvy network of pedophiles who shared information. After Lepage was charged in Operation Malaise, investigators learned he had abused boys over a long period of time between 1995 and 2003. Lepage worked as city manager of Lorraine between 1980 and 2000.
On Dec. 16, 2016, Lepage pleaded guilty to six child porn charges filed against him in Operation Malaise and to several charges including sexual interference, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching.
Gyenizse told Labelle that three of the four victims Lepage abused were unable to make victim impact statements in open court because they are still deeply affected by what happened to them as boys. She said Lepage manipulated his victims by giving them gifts, buying them clothes and taking them to places their parents couldn’t afford. He also gave them alcohol and, in some cases, drugs. One of the victims feels guilty to this day because he invited his friends over to Lepage’s home and his boat and they were abused as well.
“We can imagine what state he is in today,” Gyenizse said.
The one victim who was able to address the court on Thursday is now a young man (due to a publication ban his name and age cannot be published) who said he has difficulty controlling his emotions, which caused him to lose his job.
“I am now in debt and I don’t see a way out of it,” said the victim who could be seen squeezing a stress ball inside the courtroom before and after he testified. A special constable was strategically placed in between Lepage and the two victims who were in court on Thursday.
He also said the pain Lepage caused him has made social interaction awkward. He also said he hesitates every time he thinks of hugging his three-year-old niece because he wonders if it is appropriate to touch her.
“I’d rather stay in my bubble. It’s less complicated,” the victim said while asking Labelle to accept the sentence recommendation. “He ruined the lives of many children, not just mine.”
This story will be updated.
