“What the children have gone through is abominable. This conclusion by Judge Pierre E. Labelle sums up the unspeakable horror that Elzefar McGurk inflicted on four young girls in his neighborhood whom he used as sex objects. The pedophile was sentenced to a notable 15-year prison term Monday at the Montreal courthouse.
“It’s a balm to the heart. But as a mother, he would have had more than that. He deserved more than that. He destroyed the lives of children. Our daughter is still traumatized today. I’m waiting for a psychologist. She is afraid to go to school. She has a lot of fears. It’s very, very difficult,” the now 10-year-old mother of one of the victims said after the hearing.
The actions of Elzefar McGurk are particularly sordid. Rare are the cases of pedophilia in Quebec involving so many young victims assaulted on the same occasion. The four girls, aged between 5 and 8, regularly witnessed the attacks of other children in the apartment of the predator, in the east of Montreal.
Without going into the worst details, the 29-year-old man received oral sex from children and was masturbated by them. One of the girls, manipulated by the predator, was showing her friends how to perform oral sex. Elzefar McGurk also had penetrative sex with a victim.
The predator viewed child pornography with his victims and filmed the assaults. Nearly 3,000 photos and 27 videos were found at his home, including several involving the victims. On a video where he attacks a child, we can even see a baby.
Elzefar McGurk assaulted the victims so often that he “lost count”.
Other than finding the accused guilty, the judge found no mitigating factors. He did, however, point to a long list of aggravating factors, including the “tremendous vulnerability” of the victims, the significant impact on the victims, and the fact that he “groomed” the children, a way of baiting the victims. His risk of recidivism is also high, indicates the judge.
According to evaluation reports, Elzefar McGurk perceived his victims “as mere sexual objects, easily manipulated” and showed “little compassion” towards them. He says he has “normalized” child abuse by watching it online. He would “most likely” have continued to abuse the children had he not been reported.
“He names ease of access and their vulnerability as important factors in choosing victims. He also admitted that he was attracted to them and that this attraction started when he saw them having fun in the backyard. He invested them sexually and he perceived them as simple sexual objects, easily manipulated,” concludes the sexological expert report.
The mother of one of the victims still blames herself for having trusted this man from her neighborhood. “As a mother, I should have understood. I should have turned on that my daughter was in pain,” she breathed, her voice choking with emotion.
“We gave him food, we helped him. I was good hearted. I trust everyone. Sometimes you have to be wary of your neighbors,” she continues.
As Elzefar McGurk has been detained for almost two years, he has approximately 12 years and four months left on his prison sentence. The predator was also declared a long-term offender. He will be subject to five-year supervision upon his release from detention.
