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A pedophile who sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl and left her to die after tying her to a tree in Drummondville four decades ago was recently assigned to do volunteer work at a church located within shouting distance of a large daycare in Pointe-aux-Trembles while under the supervision of the Philippe-Pinel Institute.
A story aired by the J.E. news program on TVA revealed that Michel Déry, 65, was recently assigned to volunteer one day a week at the Sanctuaire de la Réparation church as part of conditions he agreed to follow to settle a criminal case filed against him last year at the Montreal courthouse. The church is less than 300 metres from the large daycare on Prince-Arthur St. in Pointe-aux-Trembles, which handles 160 children.
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According to J.E., the Philippe-Pinel Institute recently put an end to Déry’s assignment.
In 1984, a jury found Déry, not guilty of the 1983 murder of six-year-old Mélanie Decamps. She was found dead and tied to a tree in Drummondville several days after she was reported as missing.
He was acquitted on grounds of insanity after a psychologist testified he had the mental age of a child of five. A mental health tribunal now hears Déry’s case once annually to monitor how he follows surveillance conditions.
Lorrain Leduc, general manager of CPE La Grosse Maison, said Friday he was surprised to learn from the report that a pedophile who murdered a child was assigned to volunteer close to the daycare, but he also said he did not sense the children were in danger.
“Nothing happened,” Leduc told The Gazette. “We never saw the man. There were no events. The children here are always supervised by adults and they never saw (Déry).
“If someone lacked judgement by placing him there, so be it. I hope they learn from what happened.”
The Gazette has sent a request for comment to Équijustice, an organization described on its website as “a network of restorative justice and community mediation.” J.E. reported that the group assigned Déry to volunteer at the church after he was arrested last year when Montreal police found him at a concert attended by children.
He was charged with violating probation orders and, according to court records, on June 26 the case at the Montreal courthouse was “rejected.” J.E. reported that the case was set aside to be dealt with through a program run by the justice minister that allows a case to be resolved through other means than court.
Under this program, the offender acknowledges responsibility and is usually asked to perform community service.
In Déry’s case, employees at the Philippe-Pinel Institute raised flags after learning he was assigned to volunteer so close to a daycare.
This article will be updated.
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