A Quebec man has been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm after an eight-year-old boy was found locked up in an old heating tank.
Pierre Defoy, 50, was charged with three new offences today during his appearance in a Quebec City courtroom. He was supposed to have his bail hearing Friday, but the new charges changed that.
CTV's Genevieve Beauchemin told CTV Newsnet that Defoy's appearance in court was a tumultuous one.
"It was quite the eventful appearance," she said. "When the guards were bringing Pierre Defoy in there was a lot of commotion.
"Other prisoners in the detention area were screaming at him, calling him names . . . the judge had to suspend the hearing for a little bit."
She said the boy's mother was in attendance for the court appearance. The boy is out of hospital now, recovering.
Today's new charges include:
- Sexual assault causing bodily harm
- Invitation to sexual touching on a child under 14
- Criminal assault putting a life in danger
Earlier this week Defoy was charged with kidnapping, kidnapping a child under 14 and illegal confinement.
He will be back in court August 22. His lawyer has asked if Defoy can be sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation.
Police say the eight-year-old boy's frightening ordeal began when he was riding a bike and playing with his friends in the town of Levis, near Quebec City. They say a man drove up to the kids, stopped his car, and then took the boy. The entire incident unfolded as stunned witnesses looked on.
Police say the boy was put in the trunk of a car and an alert citizen saw the boy after the trunk popped open and called police.
Police say they found the boy bound and gagged in an old heating oil tank in the basement of an apartment.
Beauchemin said that police say the entire incident took less than an hour.
Further charges could be laid as the Crown says the investigation is incomplete.
With a report from CTV Montreal's John Grant
