“I didn’t do it”: this is what Thierry Karsenti, a teaching authority, who is accused of sexual contact with a minor, hammered Wednesday at the Longueuil courthouse.
The minor in question, whose identity is protected by the court, alleges that Thierry Karsenti fondled his genitals about ten times, in a residence in Brossard in 2015. At another time, the accused allegedly forced the bathroom door to observe the 11-year-old boy taking a shower. The touching allegedly took place over a period of just over a year.
“You heard [the complainant] mention that you went to his room about 10 times to do sexual touching,” lawyer Clara Daviault asked her client.
“I didn’t,” replied the former professor of education at the University of Montreal. The internationally renowned researcher has also held the Canada Research Chair in Information and Communication Technologies. He directed the Interuniversity Research Center on Training and the Teaching Profession.
“Can you comment on the event where [the complainant] mentions that you unlocked the bathroom door and spent two to three minutes observing him while he was in the shower? “, added Me Daviault.
“I didn’t,” the 54-year-old replied again.
It was at this time that she questioned her son and that the latter confided in the gestures he allegedly suffered when he was a minor.
In the afternoon of Wednesday, Me Daviault attacked the credibility of the victim during his argument. She questioned the memory of the boy who, when he complained to the police, had difficulty remembering a trip he had taken two months earlier with the accused.
“It worries me a lot,” said Thierry Karsenti’s lawyer. It is of great concern to the defense that [the complainant] does not remember when the trip to Abitibi took place when it was so close to his video interrogation. It raises questions about the quality of his memory of […] events that would have happened in Brossard two to three years earlier. »
Me Daviault also asked Judge Ann-Mary Beauchemin to study the possibility of collusion, intentional or unintentional, between the victim and her mother. “These are not witnesses who are on good terms with Mr. Karsenti. These are witnesses who might have motive to fabricate charges. Obviously, I will never be able to prove it […], but I believe there is a possibility,” she added.
Me Gauvin also questioned the sincerity of the accused. She took the example of a question she asked him during his cross-examination about a chair that was in the victim’s room. The accused took long minutes before answering them clearly. The judge had to intervene by saying to him: “Sir, it’s not rocket science what [the prosecutor] is asking you. »
Me Gauvin referred to a lack of transparency on the part of the accused. “He was evasive on many topics, on many questions, he was evasive,” she said. “It was caricatural, the way he answered questions,” she added, claiming that Thierry Karsenti was giving answers to “restore his image.”
Thierry Karsenti was arrested in February 2021. He no longer works at the University of Montreal. Judge Ann-Mary Beauchemin is due to render her decision in mid-July. The date will be set for May 10.
