Young Buddha in Montreal

This is a repost from the following webpage:
http://quebecdaycareabuse.com/

about a Daycare - Garderie au Clair de Lune from Hull, Quebec.

I do not own this story, I'm just reposting. Just incase the website gets pulled down - I will copy/paste the entire story itself to make sure the story somehow doesn't die.

Here is the story of the mother. Please visit her site and repost this blog or share her weblink:

I am the mother of a four year old boy named ######. What do you think would happen in Canada if it was discovered that your child was being abused by his caretaker at daycare? What do you think would happen if it was discovered that your child was abused on a daily basis for eight months at daycare and his abuser was literally caught in the act of abusing your child? Do you think people would be up in arms? Do you think there would be serious consequences for the daycare and the abuser? I certainly did. But that was before it happened to me.

My son was physically and emotionally abused and brutally degraded at Garderie au Clair de Lune in Hull, Quebec, owned by Claire Lepage and Diane Mousseau. He was abused daily while in their care from August 2008-March 2009. Garderie au Clair de Lune is part of Quebec’s government funded $7/day child care network.

The abuse ended when the perpetrator was “caught in the act”. The final act of assault against my son was witnessed by another employee of the daycare centre. In mid-March 2009, the chef at Garderie au Clair de Lune witnessed ######’s daycare provider, Monique Trudeau aggressively take away the toy my son was playing with. When ###### began to cry, Monique Trudeau picked him up by his head and throat, lifted him to her eye level, and then proceeded to drop him on the floor and drag him across the floor by the hair floor afterword. This was done in what was called an “excessive rage” by the chef. This assault (and most other abuses against my son) happened in the presence of the other children in his daycare group.

The effects of the prolonged abuse he suffered have been devastating. The abuse began when he was only two years old. He was brutalized in despicable ways over the eight month period he was in their care. I have documented what he has old me thus far.

Since my son’s abuser was “caught in the act”, I have reported the details of his eight month abuse ordeal to the Directeur de la protection de la jeunesse of Quebec (DPJ), the Quebec Ministry of Family Services (Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés) and to the Gatineau police. However, none of the agencies had enough interest to investigate his prolonged abuse. None of the agencies would even come and speak with me in person to discuss the abuse that my son endured. Not one!

I am writing this to officially report the abuses that my son suffered at Garderie au Clair de Lune during the eight months that he spent in their care. This seems to be the only way I can tell my story.
I am also writing this to capture the facts regarding the negligence shown by the owners of Garderie au Clair de Lune in how they handled my son's abuse while he was in their care and their further negligence in dealing with his situation once the final act of assault against him was witnessed at their facility.
Details of the emotional, psychological and physical abuse that my son endured while at Garderie au Clair de Lune:

When ###### arrived at Garderie au Clair de Lune, he was singled out by Monique Trudeau and treated as a “problem child” immediately. Monique Trudeau criticized most aspects of my son’s behaviour (with my son present) to me, the daycare owners and ######’s father.

He says that she often hurt him if he cried for any reason.

He was frequently told by Monique Trudeau that no one at the daycare liked him and that even his parents did not like him.

He was shamed frequently and told that he was a very bad boy.

He said that Monique Trudeau used to throw things at him-things like wooden toys and heavy play-sets for example.

MT forced ###### to be the last child in line for everything. MT let every other child go first for all activities and made my son wait until the end for everything. He says this included going upstairs at daycare, getting dressed to go outside, etc. In doing this, she further psychologically tormented him and also created many more opportunities to be alone with him. During these times alone, he says she would “hurt him even more”.

My son reports that should he decide to go first (up the stairs for example) while another adult was present, MT would hurt him afterword as punishment when she was alone with he and the children again.

My son told me that after Monique Trudeau would physically abuse him, if he would not stop crying immediately, then she would go get the owner(s) of the daycare to come and see how much of a “bad boy” he was. Again, she was attempting to make my son appear to be a villain.

###### told me that he was often strapped in a chair at daycare and that Monique Trudeau would force various items (food or toys) into his mouth. He vomited on multiple occasions because of this.

He said that he was often shaken very hard by Monique Trudeau.

###### said that he was often given no food by Monique Trudeau for much of the day.

###### was frequently locked in a bathroom in total darkness at the daycare.

He was often choked by Monique Trudeau and he said that he could not breathe when she did this. He said she sometimes choked him until he “fell down”.

Monique Trudeau forced my son to eat his own feces from his diaper until he vomited.

Said that she used to “hit him very hard in his face”. He says she did this “beaucoup, beaucoup”. Indeed one or both of his cheeks were often red and his face was often sore. MT would tell my husband that my son was likely “teething”. He also told me she punched him in his face with her fist. He said she would play a game with him where sometimes she would punch him in the face and sometimes she would almost punch him in the face but stop right before her fist hit him.

Told me that she would often push him so he fell on the ground both inside and outside the daycare.

Told me that she used to scare him so much it would make him go pee.

Told me that she often hurt him by squeezing his two shoulders together and “squishing” him.

Said that she would make the water too hot and it would burn his hands when he was trying to wash them.

My son also reports that MT abused him quite freely in front of the other children in his class both inside at the daycare and when MT took his group outside to the local park. He was very afraid to go to the park because he knew that no other grown ups were around.

My son has reported to me that MT encouraged the other children in his class to abuse him as well. He reports that she encouraged and allowed the other children to hit him and be physically abusive with him.

Details of negligence on the part of Garderie au Clair de Lune (owners Claire Lepage and Diane Mousseau) in handling my son’s abuse while in their care:

The daycare did nothing to protect my son from Monique Trudeau or remove him from the care of MT though they knew that my son was at risk. The daycare owners were aware that a problem existed before the final act of assault was witnessed. The DPJ reported to me that the daycare owners told the DPJ that Monique had been seen at Garderie au Clair de Lune being aggressive and angry with ###### both verbally and physically on a number of occasions. The DPJ reported that (prior to being caught lifting ###### by his head and throat in a rage) the daycare owners did not feel that MT’s aggression and anger towards ###### were enough of a problem to take any action. We, ######’s parents were never informed of this during our son's time at Clair de Lune.

My son was once so distraught after an act of abuse that he was found trying to escape from the daycare. He was discovered crying hysterically while hanging half-way up the fence surrounding the daycare that led to the sidewalk. ###### was only a little past two years old when this happened. This disturbing event was not looked into by CDL and was treated more as something “humourous”.

My son came home from daycare with a bloody nose on multiple occasions. Nothing about how these injuries occurred was ever mentioned to my son’s father when he picked up our son.

After Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, the chef who witnessed the assault informed the owners of Garderie au Clair de Lune. MT was sent home, but Clair de Lune did not call us, the parents to inform us that our son had been assaulted.  Instead, they forced my son to stay at the daycare for the entire day after his final assault was witnessed and had him continue his day as if everything were normal. We were told that he stopped crying shortly after MT was finished assaulting him and the daycare owners felt that this meant “he was fine”.

After Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune did not seek medical attention for my son.

After Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune did not call the DPJ to report that my son had been abused in their care. The law requires that they report any act of child abuse they are aware of to the DPJ. They did not. I, made the report.

After Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune did not call the police to report the assault.

When we came to get ###### on the evening of the day that Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune did not inform us that our son had been assaulted in their care.

When we dropped ###### off at daycare the day after Monique Trudeau was caught lifting my son by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune still did not inform us that our son had been assaulted in their care.

Garderie au Clair de Lune informed us of the assault at 5:15 p.m. the day after ###### was assaulted. They took a full 30 hours to inform us, ######’s parents, that Monique Trudeau had been caught lifting ###### by his head and throat in a rage while in their care. They told us that they had to take time to consult with their lawyers before speaking with us.

When informing us of the assault that my son suffered, Garderie au Clair de Lune framed the news to us in a way that implied that our son was to blame. They began the conversation with by telling us that even though our son was difficult, no child should be abused.

When informing us that Monique Trudeau was caught lifting ###### by his head and throat in a rage, Garderie au Clair de Lune asked us not once, but twice to keep the information about our son’s assault a secret. They told us they were afraid it would damage their reputation if the information got out. They said they were a “safe” daycare.

********************************************************************

I have major concerns about how my son’s abuse case was handled by the agencies implicated (DPJ, Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés). On April 8^th I called the DPJ to get more information on how my son’s case would be handled. At that time I was told that his case was closed. Rather than speaking to us, ######’s parents to get further information about the abuses that our son suffered over his eight months at Garderie au Clair de Lune, the DPJ organized a meeting and invited the Gatineau police, the owners of Garderie au Clair de Lune, and the Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés of Quebec. At this meeting, the four groups represented determined that everything had been handled appropriately by all. They concluded:

Nothing would be pursued other than a criminal charge of assault for the abuse my son suffered when he was lifted by his head and throat.

They decided at this meeting that it was not necessary to inform the parents of the other children who were present when ###### was assaulted by Monique Trudeau.

They also determined at this meeting that no investigation was required to determine if my son had suffered any other abuses at the hands of Monique Trudeau while at Garderie au Clair de Lune.

Finally, they decided during this meeting that no investigation was required to determine if any other children at Garderie au Clair de Lune daycare had been assaulted by Monique Trudeau.

Further, the Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés of Quebec concluded that they did not see a need to investigate the situation to determine if Garderie au Clair de Lune had acted responsibly and appropriately in handling my son’s abuse.

We the parents were not invited to the above meeting, nor were we informed.  An important fact about this case is that the daycare has a vested interest in claiming that my son was only abused one time. In Quebec, an employer is not legally responsible for the actions of an employee if the action is a “one time event”.  So how can the information from Clair de Lune be impartial when their business depends on the truth not getting out?

###### was placed by his family doctor in a child abuse program at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. In May of 2009 after much persistence on CHEO’s part, the DPJ re-opened ######’s file in order to request that Garderie au Clair de Luneinform the other parents from ######’s group that their children were present while one of their peers was assaulted by a daycare provider employed by Clair de Lune. This informing was so delayed that by the time it took place, took place a full two months after the assault occurred. It is also important to note that the parents had previously been told that this particular daycare provider was no longer working for Garderie au Clair de Lune due only to a “difference in child care philosophies”. Once the parents were informed, ######’s case was again closed by the DPJ.

I have other concerns about the safety of the entire government run subsidized daycare system in Quebec. Monique Trudeau was working in another government subsidized daycare in Gatineau only weeks after being caught assaulting my son.

Also, this situation has done nothing to jeopardize the daycare license of Garderie au Clair de Lune. The Ministère de la Famille et des Aînés seem to have no impartial ombudsman to deal with situations such as these. They have imparted no consequences on the daycare and they consider the matter finished.

A criminal trial ensued over a year later (April 2010). Monique Trudeau was found guilty of assaulting my son. There were no real consequences in this verdict however. It related solely to the one act of assault that was witnessed against my son (because nothing beyond this was even investigated)!

I made a victim impact statement at the trial. When I finished, the judge said something to the effect of "I will have to side with the daycare owners on this. I believe the boy was a problem". Both daycare owners (Claire Lepage and Diane Mousseau) said this in their testimony (as if this should absolve them of any responsibility--blame the two year old). They certainly painted my son as "the problem" rather than the child abuser they hired and allowed to abuse my son under their noses for eight months. They said my son was aggressive. Abused children often are. I don't think you have to be a child psychologist to know this. He tells me he often tried to defend himself against her by screaming. That's all he could do. He was two.

MT was mandated to complete a small number of hours of community service. The judge was lenient and decided not to give her a criminal record! I believe this will allow her to work in a subsidized daycare in the province of Quebec again. However, at the trial she mentioned she was being re-trained as a pharmacist's assistant. I also believe her re-training is being paid for by the Quebec government. So, abuse and defile a child, get caught, go on unemployment and then start a whole new career paid for by the government? To me, this is so ridiculous that it must be fiction. But it isn't.

I have another interesting piece of information regarding the daycare's pointing the finger at my son as the "problem". Some weeks after my son's abuse was witnessed at Garderie au Clair de Lune, ######'s father went to pick up our son's belongings that were left at the facility. I told him to ensure that ######'s daily log book was in his bag of things. But when he when he brought the bag home it contained only ######'s clothing. The logbook was not there. It was a daily planner of sorts. It was sent home each day with the summary of day's events at daycare. I read it thoroughly every night. A pattern emerged. Monique Trudeau's comments about my son were negative. She criticized all aspects of ######'s behaviour. However, she took a vacation day every second Monday and ###### was cared for by a different caregiver. The second care giver's reports about him in his logbook were glowing. His behaviour was wonderful. The reports written about my son by two different Garderie au Claire de Lune workers were black and white in their differences. This logbook told a story of one adult who disliked a child immensely. It also contained the opposite story--a story about another adult who enjoyed her time with my son and thought he was extremely well behaved. But sadly, this logbook has remained missing. We went back to Garderie au Clair de Lune a few weeks after the first attempt to again demand the logbook. This time we were told that:

The log book belonged to the daycare, not us.

The log book was missing. Diane Mousseau told us that perhaps Monique Trudeau took it with her.

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Young Buddha in Montreal

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