Former bus driver pleads guilty after years of sexual offences with teen girl

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual offences

A former bus driver who sexually exploited and abused a teenage girl for half a decade pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences on Monday in a Quebec courthouse.

According to a joint statement of facts, the 30-year-old victim met Pierre Lafontaine, 70, when he was her bus driver and she was in Grade 7. The two spoke regularly for three years.

"She considered him a friend and confidant," the court document reads.

When the victim, then aged 15, changed schools in Grade 9, the 55-year-old man suggested they exchange numbers, which she agreed to.

"At the time, G.B. was going through a difficult period in her life and was vulnerable. She was suffering from eating disorders and self-mutilation," the document reads. "The accused knew this."

Lafontaine then asked to meet the victim at Champlain Mall in Brossard, Que., picked her up and started kissing her when parked. She "froze," according to the facts.

The interactions intensified after the initial meeting with Lafontaine, picking her up at lunchtime two to three times a week and engaging in oral sex with the teenage girl.

The court document mentioned that she had no sexual experience at the time and "pretended to feel pleasure," but wished "it would stop."

"The accused tells her that if she talks about what they are doing, she will destroy his life. G.B. sees him as her only source of comfort," the document reads.

Lafontaine had unprotected sex with the girl four months after the meeting at Champlain Mall with the victim said she "was in pain and felt dirty."

The lunchtime meetings continued with "various sexual contacts" that became "intense and degrading," and evening online chats involving webcam shows and explicit conversations continued at the same time.

The relationship lasted for over five years.

The victim eventually sought help from a psychologist and realized that her experiences were not normal.

"At all times, the accused was fully aware of G.B.'s age and went to great lengths when introducing her [to other people] not to say her real age or even her name," the document reads, adding he used a nickname when referring to her.

In pleading guilty to sexual exploitation, Lafontaine acknowledges he was in a position of authority over the teenage girl and that she depended on him and was being exploited.

Lafontaine pleaded guilty to several sexual offences, including sexual touching, exploitation, and other charges.

His sentencing date is scheduled for Sept. 4.