Trial for rearrested pedophile Luc 'X' once again delayed

Montreal Palais de Justice file photo (CTV Montreal/Kelly Greig)

MONTREAL -

The Montreal trial of a 48-year-old man once described by courts as the worst pedophile in the country, is once again being delayed.

Luc "X" cannot be identified because one his victims was his own daughter. Monday morning, his lawyer Marie-Claude Lacroix told the judge she wanted to withdraw from the case, because of a "difference of opinions" with her client on how she should carry his defence. She did not specify what the reasons were.

The judge told the accused he needed to find another lawyer quickly, as his trial keeps getting postponed. Luc X complained he was having a hard time finding someone because of COVID-19. The judge ordered him to return to court on Nov. 17. He remains behind bars until then.

Luc X was first tried in 2004, after Interpol contacted the RCMP to report they had found large quantities of child pornography that likely originated from Canada. The Montreal police eventually showed-up at Luc X’s doorstep, his original trial revealed, and discovered he was sexually abusing his own daughter, and then sent pictures of his abuse to a network of pedophiles around the world.

The man was eventually found guilty, and sentenced to the maximum of 15 years behind bars. The sentence was reduced on appeal, on the grounds that despite the horrific facts of the case, Luc X was still a first-time offender. In a landmark case, the Supreme Court reinstated the sentence of 15 years, arguing that judges should have the leeway needed for sentencing.

Luc X was never granted early parole and was forced to serve his entire 15-year sentence because therapies in prison failed, and he remained at a high-risk to reoffend.

But once released to a halfway house, he bragged to his cellmate that he was still an expert in hiding child porn. The discussion came to the attention of a guard, who discovered that Luc X managed to hide the very same pedophiliac material he was arrested for inside a modified GPS device.

He was rearrested on the spot, leading to the new charges of possession and distribution of child pornography material.