With his back bent by the weight of his 95 years, Ildebert Huard went to the cells on Friday. The former doctor in charge of the Villa Ignatia Therapy House was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually assaulting five victims.
• Read more: The founder of the Villa Ignatia treatment home was sexually assaulted five times
• Read more: 90-year-old doctor accused of sexually assaulting five women
He appealed to the court for leniency, citing the “very low” risk and the attacker’s advanced age, allowing him to serve his sentence in the community.
However, Judge Mario Tremblay ruled in favor of reprehensible and deterrent purposes in relation to offenses of a sexual nature. Then the number of five victims and the duration of the activities Huard was accused of supported a prison sentence. Judge Edgar Fruitier was sentenced to six months in prison for touching a victim’s clothes in parallel.
“I hope this sentence, which the court finds just, will allow these five women to turn around and walk with their heads held high,” the magistrate said when confirming the 18-month sentence.
“Almost deaf and almost blind,” Hart did not fully understand what was happening when he was taken to the cells.
Vulnerable victims
The actions Ildebert Huard is accused of took place over a 28-month period between 2017 and 2019. The man in charge of the Villa Ignatia treatment home, who called himself “Doc”, took advantage of the vulnerability of abused women. they.
The five victims were touched by the former doctor, aged 88 and 90, upon arrival at the treatment home. Heavily drugged upon their arrival, they often slept for days before meeting Huard in his office.
Touching hands on buttocks, breasts, hair, and penetrating gestures abound. He even went so far as to put one of the young women’s hand on his penis: “Touch me, touch me.”
For another victim, the attacks progressed to kissing on the mouth and then touching the genitals. The doctor also went to the extent of forcing her to masturbate.
“It was very curious,” the attacker admitted during his trial for the young woman, for whom the judge described as “sickly attractive”.
In Ildebert Hart, 2013
Archive photo by KARL TREMBLAY
“The idea that he can get away with anything”
A pre-sentence and sex report, which the judge described as “no help to the accused”, was ordered with sentencing observations. As the trial progressed, Hart denied any responsibility.
“The narcissist feeds off his position of power, giving him the impression that he can get away with anything,” the report says.
However, these women were extremely vulnerable and dependent on Huard to complete their treatment, Judge Tremblay assessed in his decision.
“It took a lot of courage and determination for the first complainants to denounce him,” the magistrate underlined.
At the end of his 18-month sentence, Ildebert Huard will be placed on probation for three years. In particular, he will be prohibited from being at the Villa Ignatia or any place of treatment or care, “where he may feel in a relationship of trust or authority with another person”.
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