South Shore pastor, wife sentenced for abusing their children for years

South Shore pastor and wife sentenced for child abuse A pastor on the South Shore and his wife were sentenced to prison time for abusing their children.

Montreal — A South Shore pastor and his wife were sentence to lengthy prison terms Wednesday after pleading guilty to inflicting years of corporal punishment on their eight children.

Mario Monette and Carole Van Houtte Monette were sentenced to five years and four years, respectively, for physically disciplining their children beginning in 1974.

In his ruling, Justice Marc-Antoine Carette pointed out that the abuse was considered a form of education. It began with spanking them with a spoon. They continued with bigger wooden sticks, on an almost daily basis, usually as punishment for lack of discipline in the household.

One daughter was once spanked 150 times for writing love letters and secretly meeting a boy when she was a teenager. Another then-teenaged boy was locked in the garage for months, as a form of punishment for his own behaviour. He would later escape and end up in foster care.

Children would also be disciplined for listening to unapproved music.

The couple was arrested two years ago and faced 32 assault-related charges. The pair encouraged their followers at the Metropolitan South Biblical Baptist Church in St-Hubert to do the same with their children.

The Longueil police said investigating the case was not easy, as it forced children to choose between denouncing their parents or keeping quiet to protect them.

Last September, the couple decided to cut short their trial and pleaded guilty to all charges. But they challenged the Crown’s assertion that the physical abuse was exaggerated.

That led to a lengthy sentencing hearing, where victims described the nightmares they went through and their suffering at the hands of their parents over the smallest incidents.

As for the couple, Mario Monette testified he grew up in a strict, observant religious family, and that he was initiated to the virtues of corporal punishment when he was ordained pastor in 1982.

He explained that he would hit his children according to strict methods and calculations and that the punishments grew in intensity based on the child’s perceived misdeeds.

The prosecution demanded a 10-year term for the pastor and a term of four to six years for his wife. The defence argued for suspended sentences.

But the judge rejected the accused’s position as, he said, they tried to minimize their actions. He said he felt they pleaded guilty only because they admitted society no longer accepts corporal punishment as dictated by the Bible.

"Despite his lengthy testimony, the accused never showed any empathy towards his children," wrote Carette.

The judge came to the conclusion that Mario Monette used his status as a pastor as an additional form of authority over his children.

Carol Van Houtte Monette, for her part, "blamed the court case on her children and minimizes the psychological impact of the abuse," the judge said.

She instead blames the children for not sharing their deep religious faith, he said.

He said while Van Houtte Monette has shown remorse over her crimes, she still deserved a sentence of four years. But Carette said her husband didn’t show any signs of remorse, sentencing him to five years behind bars.

'A REAL HELL'

Outside the court, the victims said they were pleased with the sentence.

"The facts were admitted," said Micaël Monette.

"I wish it came from my parents, but in the end it was a judge who weighted the facts to come to an obvious conclusion."

Describing his childhood, the young man said with tears in his eyes that "it was atrocious, a real hell."

Line Sevigny, a former church member who denounced the couple’s actions as far back as 2012, said she, too, feels a sense of relief.

"He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothes. I would never have imagined that was so horrible to his own flesh and blood,” she said.

She said she has a harder time understanding how she managed to stay as a member of Mario Monette’s church for so long.

"He’s charismatic, doing the work of God, talking about the will of God, and he would say that if we quit, we would go [to] hell."

She also has a warning for others who might follow a false prophet.

"When we love the Lord, we’re willing to do a lot for the Lord, he does a lot for us," she said.

"But be careful of men. Be careful and keep your own judgment, your own discernment and don’t accept any abuse."