Val D'Or 'bone setter' and massage therapist gets two years in jail for sexual assault - CTV News Montreal

[massage]

VAL D'OR, QUE. -- Val D’or ‘ramancheur’ Jean-Marie Bergeron has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for sexual assault.

Judge Jean Beaulieu found Bergeron guilty of four out of five counts of assault brought against him.

Upon his release, the 67-year-old will be placed on a two-year supervised probation and attend sexual consent therapy. He will not be allowed to come into contact with any of his victims.

The accused, who also offered massage therapy, was arrested in July 2019 for acts against four women and one child between 2014 and 2019.

Bergeron allegedly touched the breasts and genitals of his alleged victims and penetrated them with his fingers. He was acquitted of a charge that he incited a minor to touch herself.

While delivering the verdict, Judge Beaulieu raised several “flagrant” contradictions in Bergeron’s testimony, and brought focus to Bergeron’s disregard for his victim’s lack of consent.

“He just said to them: you know me, trust me,” said the judge. “He was never concerned with having the consent of his clients before carrying out these manipulations.”

Bergeron also allegedly said on several occasions that he did not derive any pleasure from his assaults. That, according to the Beaulieu, indicated he knew they were of a sexual nature.

The judge also questioned the business practices of Bergeron, who calls himself a ‘ramancheur,’ or ‘bone-setter’ “while he issues bills for massage therapy,” said Beaulieu. “Moreover, he charges more if his client is insured.”

The judge commended the courage of the victims, who did not know or speak with each other before testifying. Four of the five victims sent letters regarding the charges, while two testified in person.

One of the victims said she feels constant anxiety. She said she’s afraid to see a therapist for pain relief following her assault.

The other said she changed careers after Bergeron assaulted her. She wanted to become a nurse’s assistant and left her job at a seniors' home. “I felt disgusting,” she told the court. “When I was bathing people, I didn’t know if I was doing it right.”

“I felt like an abuser.”

She also said the affects of the assault led to problems in her relationship to her partner. “I feel bad for inflicting this pain on her,” she said.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2020.