A former hockey coach and ex-lawyer who hid a spy camera to film three teenagers has been sentenced to a year in prison, despite his above-average risk of recidivism and his situation remaining “worrying”. The Crown called for a 30-month sentence for Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant.
Posted at 3:56pm
“The actions of the defendants were planned and required a significant degree of sophistication. The defendant acted to the best of his knowledge and belief in betraying the trust and friendship of all members of this victim’s family, who are still deeply devastated by an event they should never have witnessed,” Judge Érick Vanchestein said Thursday at the courthouse from Montréal.
Four years after the events, the wounds for the family captured by Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant are still alive. “I was 16 years old. I trusted him. He betrayed us. We live in a cruel world and people like Sam are one of the reasons why,” the eldest son told the court.
Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant, 29, had been practicing law for two years at the time of the 2018 events. He had been invited to the chalet of a couple he knew as their eldest son’s hockey coaches in western Montréal. The couple had three teenagers.
The voyeur took the opportunity to install a clock radio with a spy camera in the upstairs bathroom, allowing him to film the boys’ genitals. The unit was even raised by toilet paper to be the perfect height in front of the toilet. He told the children that the toilet in the basement was broken in order to lure them into his trap.
The parents eventually discovered the ruse when they noticed the odd position of the clock radio in the bathroom and noticed the suspicious behavior of Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant.
Police found 34 videos in the hidden camera, 6 of which depict child pornography. He was therefore found guilty of producing child pornography and voyeurism.
First, Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant was also accused of filming around 20 teenagers without their knowledge in 2017 and 2018 while he was a hockey coach at Roxboro high schools. He was also accused of sexually assaulting two 14-year-old children. However, almost all charges were dropped for the exclusion of substantial pieces of evidence for violating his constitutional rights.
The defense questioned the constitutionality of the one-year minimum sentence, asking for a lenient sentence of 90 days of weekend imprisonment or 12 months of house arrest.
Citing the many aggravating factors in the case, the judge sentenced him to a year in prison, citing the sophistication of the crime, the consequences for victims and the risk of a recidivism.
The judge mentions that the defendant’s situation is “worrying” as he has been diagnosed with voyeurism. An expert concludes that at the onset of puberty, Samuel Beaugé-Malenfant has a different sexual preference than adolescents.
Me Amélie Rivard represents the prosecutor, while Me Maxime Chevalier defends the accused. The case is also on appeal.