Three high school coaches in Montreal appeared in court on Thursday to face multiple sex-related charges that allegedly involve two minors spanning nearly a decade at the same school.
As the three men face formal charges after their arrest on Wednesday, Montreal police say they are looking for additional potential victims as the investigation is ongoing, and they released the men's photos to the public.
The coaches were arrested at the École Secondaire Saint-Laurent in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough where they taught and were part of the same girls’ basketball team, according to police.
The accused are Robert Luu, 31, Charles-Xavier Boislard, 43, and Daniel Lacasse, 43.
Boislard faces four charges including sexual touching, sexual assault and sexual exploitation while in a position of authority on a student under the age of 16 between 2008 and 2010.
Daniel Lacasse faces a single count of sexual touching on the same alleged victim, but this time between 2010 and 2012
As for Robert Luu, he faces two counts of sexual touching and one count of sexual assault, but on a different alleged victim, this time between 2014 and 2017.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Only Boislard was released on bail after the brief court appearance Thursday under several conditions, including not contacting the co-accused, the alleged victims, the school staff, and anyone under the age of 18. He will return to court on March 24.
The Crown prosecutor objected to the release of Lacasse and Luu. The Crown told reporters that the pair are scheduled to appear in court Friday to set a date for a bail hearing.
Meanwhile, investigators with Montreal police's sexual assault unit are asking more alleged victims, if any, to come forward.
“Since many underage girls have been members of the sports teams to which the three men are linked over the years, investigators have reason to believe that other young girls may have been victims of similar acts from 2005 to the present,” Montreal police said in a news release.
Anyone who may have been a victim or witness of sexual wrongdoing by the accused is asked to contact sexual assault unit at 514-280-8502 or visit their local police station. People can report information anonymously and confidentially by contacting Info-Crime Montréal at 514-393-1133 or via infocrimemontreal.ca.
The coaches were well-known and respected at the school, which is why the charges came as a shock to the school community. The school said it is providing support to the students.
A spokesperson for the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), the governing body of primary and secondary school, collegiate and university sport in Quebec, said he has no doubt the school did its due diligence in hiring the teachers involved.
“I’m sure their screening system is very well organized. I’m sure that they asked the right questions and they do a follow up, and they do research on the people they hire because they work with kids,” said Stephane Boudreau, associate director general of the RSEQ.
“I have no idea what [is] the screening process at the [École Secondaire Saint-Laurent] or the school board, but I’m pretty sure they follow what the Ministry of Education puts in place.”
With files from CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux
