“Mr. Lavoie’s crimes were extremely serious and an egregious breach of trust,” Victoria provincial court Judge Christine Lowe said Monday, rejecting the defence’s request for a suspended sentence. “Those who consider such actions must know that there will be serious consequences for this behaviour.”
The voyeurism might have gone undetected, but for the quick actions of a patient who had an appointment on Aug. 10, 2020. While the two were talking about her health issues, Lavoie placed his cellphone under some towels and secretly recorded their session. When he left the room, the woman disrobed down to her panties, then spotted the cellphone, said Lowe. She realized immediately it was recording.
She picked it up, quickly got dressed and ran from the clinic to her car. Lavoie followed her but was unable to catch her. He called her three times from the clinic. But she drove directly to the Saanich Police Department, banged on the door and turned over the cellphone.
“She was distraught, shocked and extremely frightened,” said Lowe. “But her brave actions revealed the offences against the other three victims.”
She had never experienced such immense fear, Lowe said — she was in shock and feared for her life, and will never seek massage therapy from a man again.
After he was charged, Lavoie helped police identify the other victims. A 19-year-old woman had also been surreptitiously video-recorded that morning as she got undressed.
The third victim was Lavoie’s common-law spouse. Although Lavoie confessed that he had been arrested for recording another woman while she was undressing, he did not tell his common-law spouse that he had hidden a camera in the bookcase in their bedroom and videorecorded her having sex with him.
In her victim-impact statement, she spoke about her feelings of betrayal and the loss her young daughter felt because she was so fond of Lavoie.
“I fear it is easy to label voyeurism as a minor crime and to dismiss its impact on victims as short-term …. This is far from reality,” she wrote. When Lavoie had asked if he could film them having sex, she had said “no.” The cost of counselling for both her and her daughter was significant, court heard.
Lavoie also had intimate relations with a former partner on July 28, 2020, which he video-recorded without the woman’s consent. She did not file a victim-impact statement.
A pre-sentence report shows Lavoie’s risk for sexual reoffending is in the low-moderate range and he is not at risk to become sexually violent. The report suggested Lavoie would benefit more from one-to-one counselling than traditional sex-offender treatment.
The judge accepted that Lavoie is extremely remorseful. He has apologized to all his victims, takes responsibility for his actions and understands that he has broken their trust.
The number of victims, premeditation, keeping of the videos and breach of trust were deemed aggravating factors at sentencing. The crime has had an impact on the profession of massage therapists as a whole, with the impact on male practitioners significant, said Lowe.
“It’s not too far-fetched to say there will be many members of the community who will now question going to male doctors or practitioners.”
In mitigation, Lavoie has no criminal record, pleaded guilty and co-operated with police, Lowe said. He has lost his profession, income and ability to find meaningful employment, has taken steps to address his issues through counselling and has strong family support.
Full article: https://www.timescol...ettings-4861532
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