REGIONAL: Haitian national sentenced in Montreal for rape of seven year-old

SOURCE: CMC – A 66-year-old Haitian asylum seeker who had been living in Canada for several years, has been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl.

Marcel Casseus who was imprisoned since his arrest on July 18, appeared in court on Wednesday.

After pleaded guilty, the judge Pierre Labelle, sentenced  Casseus to six years in prison in addition to being listed in the register of sexual predators for 20 years.

The judge declared that it was necessary “to pass the message that attacking children will always be severely punished”.

The court stated that Casseus won the trust of a family in Montreal where he sometimes looked after the children when the parents were away. According to documents, while caring for the seven-year-old girl, he was caught by the older sister of the victim.

The 14-year-old sister then alerted their mother who was at work.

Following the incident, Casseus fled and was on the run for three days before being arrested. 

After serving his sentence, Casseus will be deported to Haiti.