2018 QCCQ 18232, 2018 QCCQ 18232

Protection de la jeunesse -- 189374 2018 QCCQ 18232 COURT OF QUÉBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUÉBEC DISTRICT […] LOCALITY […] Youth Division No. 640-41-002182-183 DATE: August 24, 2018 ______________________________________________________________________ PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE LUCILLE BEAUCHEMIN J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ IN THE MATTER OF X, born on […], 2008 Child ______________________________________________________________________ [SOCIAL WORKER 1], youth protection worker, duly authorized by the Director of Youth Protection of the A child and youth protection centre Applicant and A Mother and B Father ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ( sections 73.1 and 38 , Youth Protection Act , CQLR, c.

P-34.1) ______________________________________________________________________ JB3406 WARNING: The Youth Protection Act prohibits the publication or broadcast of information allowing a child or the child’s parents to be identified.

Every person who contravenes this provision is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine (ss 11.2, 11.2.1 and 135 Y.P.A .). [ 1 ] The Director of Youth Protection submitted an application to the Court to have the security and development of the child declared in danger because she is at risk of sexual abuse by her uncle C and her parents have failed to put an end to the situation. [ 2 ] The Director alleged the following facts. The parents, who are the biological paternal grandparents, traditionally adopted the child. Their adult son, C, is also living in the family household.

On February 7, 2018, the Director received a report that C sexually abused his own child while he was in the grandparents’ household. On March 8, 2018, C pleaded guilty to sexual interference with a teenager in another event that happened on July 24, 2017. He was then registered as a sexual offender, and he has been residing in the family household following his release from detention. On three occasions, the youth worker spoke to the parents about her concerns regarding the risk of sexual abuse of the children by C, since they cannot supervise their contact every hour of the day and night.

The parents are downplaying the events that led to the intervention of the Director. Their cooperation with the youth worker is minimal. [ 3 ] The Director recommends that the Court maintain the child with her parents and that it order several assistance measures, including follow-up by social services until July 12, 2019. [ 4 ] The parents say they know nothing about C’s legal situation. They admit most of the facts alleged and challenge the prohibition of contact between the child and her uncle C because he has no other place to live.

They disagree with unannounced visits at their household by the Director. [ 5 ] The entire hearing was mainly about once again giving the parents information about their son C and explaining the consequences of their choice to them.

[ 6 ] The evidence reveals the following facts. The child is 10 years old. She is currently living with her siblings Y, age 9, and Z, age 11. Their biological parents passed away in 2015 and 2016. After the death of their parents, their paternal grandparents adopted them. The grandmother says that she filled out the traditional adoption form for her three grandchildren. She does not understand why she never received the papers attesting to Y’s adoption by her grandparents.

That should be looked into with the help of the youth worker and their lawyer. [ 7 ] The children’s uncle C (brother by adoption) lives in his parents’ house. [ 8 ] On July 24, 2017, C sexually abused one female person who was a teenager. He was charged on July 25, 2017, and pleaded guilty on March 8, 2018. He was also charged with uttering threats to his ex-partner on August 20, 2017, to which he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 78 days of detention and to twelve months of probation without follow-up. [ 9 ] C has two daughters, D, age 2, and E, age 6.

On January 13, 2018, he asked their mother to have his children at his parents’ home for the night. She agreed. During the night, their father entered their bedroom and locked it. He took D’s panties down and he put two fingers together in the child’s vagina. D cried. E saw the whole scene and reported it to her mother’s cousin while her mother was at the hospital with her sister. On January 15, 2018, charges were laid against him for sexual assault against his daughter. The charges were finally dropped because the analysis of the sample taken in D’s vagina turned out to be negative.

But there was unusual redness in her vagina area. [ 10 ] On February 23, 2018, the Court declared the security and development of D in danger because she was a victim of sexual abuse by her father, and the security and development of E in danger because she was at risk of being sexually abused by her father. C does not remember it. [ 11 ] X and her siblings are in the same category and the same age group as their uncle’s (brother’

s) children. [ 12 ] The grandmother (the mother) swore that she did not hear anything abnormal on January 15, 2018. She would not have allowed her son to sexually abuse his daughters. [ 13 ] Even after the youth worker explained three times, the parents did not recognize that their children were at risk of being sexually abused by their uncle (brother). They were more focused on the fact that their son has nowhere to go but their home. [ 14 ] The undersigned explained to the grandparents that it is devastating for parents to learn that their son is a criminal and a danger to their young children.

The grandparents are their only family and they have a great bond. There is no doubt that the grandparents take good care of their adopted children. [ 15 ] It is also devastating to have the obligation to choose between their twenty four-year old son and their three minor children. The grandmother (mother) clearly wants her three young children with her. [ 16 ] C entered the courtroom to hear the facts alleged against him. When invited to comment on each of them, he had nothing to say. He was then forbidden to have any kind of contact with X and her siblings.

He stated that he needed two days to move out of his parents’ home for good. He was forbidden to be at his parents’ home from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. He was given until noon on Sunday, August 26, 2018, to leave his parents’ house permanently. [ 17 ] Before leaving the courtroom, he approached his mother and spoke to her in Inuktituk. He said that he did nothing and that everything was false. His mother did not look at him.

The grandmother (mother) seemed deeply distressed by the hearing and it is understandable . [ 18 ] The undersigned authorized the Director to visit the grandparents’ (parents’) home on Sunday, August 26, 2018, to be sure that C has left the premises. [ 19 ] Both grandparents (parents) were made aware that if they do not abide by the Court order, they will jeopardize their young children’s home. Those young children have lost their biological parents. They are well taken care of by their grandparents and it would be devastating to change their home, because their grandparents do not protect them enough.

The possibility of being sexually abused by their uncle (brother) is high. [ 20 ] It was also clearly explained to the grandparents that the sexual abuse of C’s child, D, was not an accident, but the repetition of a criminal act by their son. [ 21 ] Notwithstanding his presence throughout the hearing, the grandfather (father) asked the Court at the end of the hearing where will his son C go. The answer was, “He is an adult. He has to go on with his life and assume the consequences of his acts.” Finding another home quickly is his responsibility, not his parents’ and certainly not the children’s.

The children were not made aware of their uncle’s (brother’

s) situation. The grandfather agreed to abide by the Court’s decision. [ 22 ] No responsible adult should downplay the dangerousness of C towards minors. He demonstrated in Court that he is highly manipulative. He said nothing to the Court regarding his criminal record but, because he knew that his parents are family minded, he told them that nothing of what was said was true. He said it in Inuktituk. The translator was asked by the Court to translate what he said. He can be very kind to children. His daughters were happy to go and visit their father at their grandparents’ home.

The three children, X, Y and Z, like him very much. Once he has their confidence, he can become their predator. The children are young and highly vulnerable. The Director will need to keep an eye on the situation. THEREFORE, THE COURT: [ 23 ] ALLOWS the application;

[ 24 ] DECLARES that the security and development of the child X are in danger because she is at risk of sexual abuse by C and the child’s parents have failed to take the necessary steps to put an end to the situation.

AS MEASURES DEEMED TO BE IN THE CHILD'S INTEREST, THE COURT: [ 25 ] ORDERS that the child be kept with her parents; [ 26 ] FORBIDS C to be in contact with the child X unless they are supervised by the youth worker from the DYP; [ 27 ] TAKES JUDICIAL NOTICE that C will have left his parents’ home with his personal belongings by noon on Sunday, August 26, 2018, at the latest; [ 28 ] FORBIDS C to enter house 563, from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. during the next two days; [ 29 ] ORDERS that the parents ensure that the child is not left alone with C during the next two days or at anytime afterwards; [ 30 ] AUTHORIZES the Director to enter the parents’ home in the afternoon of Sunday, August 26, 2018, to make sure that C has permanently moved out of the grandparents’ (parents’) house; [ 31 ] ORDERS the parents to report periodically to the Director of Youth Protection on the measures they are taking for themselves or for the child to put an end to the situation of endangerment; [ 32 ] ORDERS that the parents take an active

part in the application of the measures ordered by the Court and cooperate fully with the Director of Youth Protection; [ 33 ] ORDERS that a person working for an institution or body provide aid, counselling or assistance to the child and her family until July 12, 2019; [ 34 ] ORDERS that any peace officer cooperate in the execution of the order; [ 35 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of the child X to the Director of Youth Protection of the A child and youth protection centre, who will see that the measures are carried out. SIGNED IN TOWN C October 9, 2018 LUCILLE BEAUCHEMIN J.C.Q. Mtre.

Sarah Bourgeois-Lessard Counsel for the Director of Youth Protection Mtre. Cassandra Neptune Counsel for the child Mtre. Angèle Tommasel Counsel for the parents Date of hearing: August 24, 2018