Police are investigating teachers at Montreal’s youth center after allegations of sexual misconduct

Nine female teachers working at the Cité-des-Prairies youth rehabilitation center are alleged to have had sexual relations with young people under their supervision, many of whom were minors at the time, the regional health authority said.

Findings from a CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal internal investigation was first reported in Le Devoir and La Presse.

The centre, located in Montreal’s eastern Rivière-des-Prairies neighbourhood, handles serious youth protection services cases, such as youth who have committed murder, drug trafficking, been pimps or used firearms.

At least nine teachers and two managers have been suspended or dismissed following the investigation into allegations of sexual activity and drug trafficking involving young people staying at the centre.

Montreal police have launched an investigation into the allegations, which could lead to criminal charges. The CIUSSS has also ordered an external investigation.

The reported events are said to have occurred over at least a year.

Pregnant employees

At least five minors are believed to have been involved in sexual misconduct, according to Assunta Gallo, director of youth protection at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.

One employee of the center is said to have become pregnant by one of the minors and had a child. According to La Presse, a 15-year-old could also have impregnated another teacher.

An intervention officer was also fired for allegedly bringing mobile phones, e-cigarettes and drugs into the centre.

Gallo said management became aware of the situation following a report in mid-August about sexual misconduct involving an educator.

“We realized that there may be other victims and other educators who may have been involved in different situations, so we decided to investigate internally and hire people from outside the establishment,” she said.

When asked about the devastating content of the study, the Professional Staffing and Technology Alliance for Healthcare and Social Services (APTS) said in a statement that the union “does not endorse any behavior that is considered inappropriate” towards young people.

“The mission of our members is to help young people, not to harm them,” said Caroline Letarte-Simoneau, the APTS representative for the CIUSSS.

She said she could not comment on the Cité-des-Prairies case because an investigation is ongoing and the privacy rights of the minors must be protected.

Research into youth centers

Brigitte Garceau, the opposition’s official critic for youth protection, said in a statement Friday that she was “disgusted” by the incident and called for an investigation into all youth and rehabilitation centers in the province, as well as the dismissal of Quebec’s youth protection services . director Catherine Lemay

“This story makes my blood run cold. If we no longer feel like our youth are safe in these rehabilitation centers, where should we send them?” she said.

On Thursday evening, Minister of Social Services Lionel Carmant said in a post on X that “everything will be done to ensure the protection and safety of young people” under the responsibility of the state.

“We will never tolerate situations like this,” he wrote. “Abusing vulnerable young people is a criminal act and can be prosecuted and convicted.”

Ongoing training, supervision needed: psychiatrist

Dr. Cécile Rousseau, a Canadian research chair and clinical psychiatrist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, said the reported incidents indicate teachers’ inability to recognize problems and behaviors associated with complex trauma, indicating a failure in the training process.

For example, she said, “It’s normal for a therapist to be sexually attracted to their clients,” but it takes in-depth clinical supervision and ongoing training—in addition to saying “no means no”—to let authority figures know how to respond .

Rousseau noted that minors in rehabilitation centers have often been abused or are accustomed to their caretakers not protecting them, which is why these young people, seeking attention, may repeat abuse in their teenage years.

“It is very serious for (the young people) because it means that the people who care for them in these youth centers have betrayed them,” she said. “Like their parents and the educators in their lives, we have betrayed them as a society.”

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Based on reporting by Radio-Canada’s Stéphane Bordeleau, with files from CBC’s Paula Dayan-Perez, prepared by Holly Cabrera