On Wednesday, January 8, the minor victim of Jean Berny Romain, the 40-year-old man accused of sexual crimes and an employee of a Vaudreuil-Soulanges seniors' residence at the time of the events, courageously addressed the court. She wished to share with Judge Mylène Grégoire the repercussions of the accused's actions on her life and those around her. 

A publication ban prevents us from revealing any details that might identify the complainant in the case, or her relationship with the accused. Rebecca, for the purposes of this text, appeared before the magistrate with aplomb, accompanied by Malik, a Sûreté du Québec service dog. 

The young woman insisted on reading aloud the letter she had written to the accused, who was listening to her via videoconference, live from the penitentiary where he has been held since May 24. 

“You killed my joie de vivre, my way of looking at life. You killed everything that makes me me. I have to learn again to trust every man I meet in my life.Because of you, I change cars on the subway when there are too many men in it. Because of you, I walk faster when I meet a man in the street. Because of you, I think all men are rapists, even though I know this isn't true. I also want to denounce what goes on behind closed doors in RPPs and invite people not to be afraid to denounce,” she said during her speech.  

Convicted on four counts 

On May 24, 2024, Jean Berny Romain was arrested at his workplace. The alleged offences took place between February 1 and May 20 of the same year, at the workplace of the man who has been detained since that date. 

He appeared by videoconference before Judge Grégoire to finalize his case and find out his fate. He entered guilty pleas on four of the twelve charges against him, while a stay of proceedings was pronounced on the remaining charges. 

He was found guilty of taking advantage of his position to touch a part of a teenager's body for sexual purposes, using a weapon during a sexual assault, communicating by telecommunication with his victim for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence against her, and making sexually explicit material available to a person under the age of 18. 

Prior to these offences, Jean Berny Romain, father of a 10-year-old child, had no criminal record. 

According to the evidence presented in court, the man had full sexual relations with the victim, in addition to forcing her to perform various other sexual acts. The accused also allegedly offered gifts to the young victim, such as perfume, underwear, a dress and chocolate. 

“The victim's DNA was taken from the vibrator found in the accused's office”, said Jérémie Brault, the public prosecutor, during Jean Berny Romain's appearance.  

A joint suggestion for sentencing 

As is often the case in many cases, the lawyers on the case submitted a joint proposal to Judge Grégoire regarding the sentence to be imposed on the accused. “Taking into account the case law and the mitigating and aggravating factors, we believe that an overall sentence of three years' incarceration would be justified in the circumstances. In addition, this period of incarceration would be accompanied by a ban on contact with the victim and his entourage, a prohibition on possessing certain types of weapons for 10 years and, for others, for life, and the obligation to provide all the samples required to register him as a sex offender for a period of 20 years”, stated Me Jérémie Brault. 

The sentence was confirmed by Judge Grégoire as reasonable in the circumstances. In handing down the sentence, she took into account the accused's lack of criminal record and his quick guilty plea. 

“It only remains for me to wish the victim and his family a speedy return to serenity and happiness,” concluded Ms. Grégoire.