Three Montreal high school coaches facing sexual assault charges
Posted February 2, 2022 6:48 pm.
Last Updated February 3, 2022 6:36 pm.
Three men who coached basketball at École secondaire Saint-Laurent were arrested Wednesday in a sex crimes investigation and appeared at a Montreal courthouse Thursday morning.
The three appeared via video conference and were charged with a total of eight counts, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and sexual touching in a position of authority – in relation to two minors between 2008 and 2017. They did not enter pleas.
The coaches facing charges are; 43-year-old Daniel Lacasse, head of the school’s basketball program, 31-year-old Robert Luu, and 43-year-old Charles-Xavier Boislard.
The three are linked to the school’s women’s basketball team specifically.
Lacasse and Luu remain detained and will be back in front of a judge Friday, while Boislard was released on bail under certain conditions: he must stay in his home, cannot leave the province, and cannot contact the alleged victim or be in contact with anyone under 16 years old. He will be back in court on March 24.
“We have just been notified that staff members from the École secondaire Saint-Laurent were arrested this afternoon,” said Dominic Bertrand, director-general of the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, which oversees the high school, in a statement Wednesday. “We’re taking the situation very seriously. We’re staying in contact with the Service de police de Montréal (SPVM) and we will follow all of the recommendations and rules that are given to us.”
Photo outside St. Laurent High School. (Photo: Matt Tornabene, CityNews)
The Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys says the staff members had no criminal records and were suspended as soon as the school was informed of official charges.
“This situation shakes us all and we take it very seriously. We will meet with parents and staff members to accompany, support them and refer them to the right resources, if necessary,” the school board wrote in a statement to CityNews. “An intervention team is also available to support students in need.”
Montreal police suspect more alleged victims may be out there among current or former students from 2005 to present day.
They urge anyone with believes they may have been victimized or has information, to come forward and contact investigators in the sexual assault division at 514-280-8502 or go to their local police station.
Anyone who wants to share information confidentially can do so through Info-Crime Montréal 514-393-1133 or via the online form infocrimemontreal.ca.
