LAVAL, Que. — A 59-year-old woman cried in a Quebec courtroom on Thursday as she recalled the sexual, psychological and physical abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her foster parents and their friends.
She was 9 years old when it began.
The woman, whose name cannot be published, was one of two victims who read impact statements in court before a judge sentenced Jacques Laporte to 10 years in prison and Micheline Charland-Laporte to eight years.
"I was their slave," she said as she recounted being raped at 10 and being passed around to the couple's friends at parties.
"I lost my virginity at an age when young girls are still playing with dolls."
She said she was also taken out of school at 12 and forced to do household chores.
The accused, who are now in their 70s, pleaded guilty to multiple charges including rape, sexual assault against a minor, gross indecency and assault causing bodily harm.
The crimes were committed between 1966 and 1986 against six foster children in their care.
The victim also told the court she tried to denounce her foster family to a teacher at a religious school but that she was not believed. She was then beaten at home and at school for allegedly lying.
Quebec court Judge Gilles Garneau said he was disappointed he was unable to locate either the teacher in question or a social worker who was reportedly a witness to some of the abuse.
The second victim to read an impact statement was a 42-year-old man who said he was repeatedly beaten with a belt until bloody.
He also said he was locked in a room for a month and paraded naked in front of strangers as punishment.
"It's inconceivable, repugnant," he said. "As much as I try to forget, regardless of the sentence they will get, this will stay with me the rest of my life."
During the victim statements Laporte kept his eyes closed and his head lowered, while his co-accused remained stone-faced.
The pre-sentencing reports on Laporte described him as a pedophile and sexual deviant, while his partner was portrayed as someone who had a sadistic personality.
Neither of them had expressed remorse for their crimes, the report stated.
Both, however, apologized in court on Thursday before being sentenced.
Charland-Laporte asked her victims for forgiveness, while Laporte added that at the time they "were very distressed" and that he was sick.
Garneau urged the victims to take advantage of any support they are offered.
"There is no sentence that will remove the pain and all the atrocities you suffered," he said.
He then turned to the accused and denounced their "indescribable and unthinkable" acts.
"You were supposed to protect children and you used them for sexual purposes," he said. "You destroyed them."
