Sussex-area sports coach denies sexually assaulting child under 10
Social Sharing
WARNING: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault on a child.
A jury trial in Saint John heard testimony from the young complainant and the accused on Friday.
Terrance Soucy, 52, of Apohaqui is on trial on three charges — sexual assault, sexual touching and inviting the complainant to touch him sexually.
A publication ban is in place to protect the identity of the girl, who was under the age of 10 when the incidents are alleged to have occurred.
Clutching a blanket and a teddy bear, the girl testified in court that Soucy touched her private parts on four separate occasions in 2023 when he was a guest at her family's home.
In each instance, she said she was playing the same video game on a computer in her family's living room when Soucy sat down beside her.
After the final incident in October 2023, she said she confronted Soucy in messages sent through Facebook, starting with two audio clips that were played for the court.
In them, she said, "I was mean to you today 'cause … I don't want you touching me in a bad way."
She then sent a typed message that said, "I need to tell cause my dad has cameras on his living room."
Soucy replied, "Need to tell what?
"Oh my gosh … If I made you feel uncomfortable in any way, I am so sorry. I honestly didn't mean to."
The girl responded, "I [do] not care."
The complainant wasn't always certain in her testimony about the dates when things are alleged to have happened.
After the girl finished testifying Friday morning, Justice Arthur Doyle told the jury that children sometimes perceive the world differently than adults, including dates and lengths of time.
Accused took the stand
During his testimony, Soucy described himself as a karate instructor. Social media posts indicate he was also a baseball coach and that he served on the executive of Sussex Minor Hockey.
He strongly denied each of the allegations against him.
"I didn't do it. It's hard to hear, but I didn't do it. I didn't do any of it," he said in court.
Under cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Michael Blackier asked him about the messages exchanged through Facebook the day before the incident was reported to police.
Soucy said the comments were not about touching the girl.
He was the only defence witness called by his lawyer, Rod Macdonald.
The jury was sent home until Tuesday morning, when closing arguments are expected to begin. They were told to come with an overnight bag in case they have to be sequestered during deliberations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Supreme Court of Canada says babysitter must be acquitted in toddler's death
The Supreme Court of Canada is framed between tulips in Ottawa on Monday, May 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says an acquittal is the appropriate outcome for a British Columbia woman whose conviction in the drowning death of a toddler was set aside two years ago. Tammy Bouvette was charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of criminal negligence causing the bathtub drowning death of a 19-month-old girl she had been babysitting in 2011 in Cranbrook, B.C. In April 2023, the B.C. Court of Appeal found the Crown had failed to disclose several items of key evidence to Bouvette's lawyers, depriving her of the opportunity to make an informed decision about how to plead. The Court of Appeal called the original conviction 'the product of a miscarriage of justice' because the evidence and circumstances established a reasonable possibility that Bouvette would not have pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death if full disclosure had been made. The Appeal Court ordered a judicial stay of proceedings, meaning a permanent halt to the case without determining guilt or innocence. Bouvette then asked the Supreme Court for an acquittal — a declaration of being found not guilty. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025. Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Drunk driver ‘detonated bomb inside family'
The daughter of a 28-year-old mother of four killed by a drunk driver cried as she told a Winnipeg court how her family was 'destroyed' by the July 2021 highway collision. 'There is a part of me that wants to scream at you, freak out, tell you how much I hate you, but even that doesn't feel strong enough,' the now 17-year-old told Chantelle Deprez. 'You didn't just steal a life — you detonated a bomb inside a family and walked away alive.' Deprez, 37, previously pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death for the crash that claimed the life of Angelina Wiens. She was sentenced Monday to three years in prison. Since Wiens' death, her four children have been separated — her young son now lives with his father, while his three sisters live with an aunt and her family. 'I love my cousins and my auntie and uncle, but it is not the same without my mom,' Wiens' youngest, now 11-year-old daughter wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court. 'It's not fair, she was very young,' the girl said. 'She could have had a great future and a longer life if you weren't drinking.' Support letters from family friends and her employer described Deprez as a good person, great mother and valued employee. Five of seven support letters, as well as a psychiatrist report, described the crash as an 'accident.' King's Bench Justice Ken Champagne said there was nothing accidental about someone getting behind the wheel after drinking. 'It is not an accident — it is a serious crime… an all-too prevalent crime that causes more deaths in Canada than any other crime,' often committed by otherwise law-abiding people with no criminal records, Champagne said. Champagne rejected a recommendation from defence lawyer Jay Prober that Deprez be sentenced to two years house arrest, ruling a 'significant' sentence was necessary to satisfy the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation 'and more importantly send a message to the community at large that this kind of criminal conduct is unacceptable.' Court heard Deprez was behind the wheel of a 1998 Ford Explorer, heading north on Highway 6 in the RM of St Laurent at about 11:30 p.m., when she veered into the southbound lane and into the path of Wiens' 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck. Wiens 'was able to try an evasive manoeuvre; she braked, she tried to go on to the shoulder, but it just wasn't enough, the accused was too far over,' Crown attorney Thomas Boulton told court. Deprez did not try to apply the brakes or veer out of the way and collided with the front right side of Wiens' truck, sending both vehicles spinning. Emergency responders had to extract Wiens from her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She wasn't wearing a seat belt. Deprez was taken by air ambulance to Health Sciences Centre with a broken leg and hip and collapsed lung. She spent 12 days in hospital and was in a wheelchair for four months. According to a pre-sentence report, Deprez told a probation officer that prior to the collision she had been watching movies at a friend's house and had one glass of wine before leaving to drive home to Winnipeg. But according to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Deprez told an air ambulance paramedic she had four glasses of wine prior to the collision. Medical records later obtained by police showed Deprez would have had an estimated blood-alcohol level of .246 at the time of the collision, more than triple the legal limit for driving. Deprez told a probation officer she continued to drink following her arrest, which court heard was in violation of a bail condition set by Champagne prohibiting her from consuming alcohol. Prober argued Deprez did not remember the bail condition and was not consciously flouting Champagne's order, which he accepted. Following the collision, Deprez was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. A psychiatric report described her as an 'emotional invalid.' Deprez hasn't driven since the collision 'and may never drive again,' Prober said, adding she was 'genuinely remorseful' and that she pleaded guilty in the face of a problematic Crown case. None of the paramedics who treated Deprez said they saw any signs she was impaired, he said. A crash reconstruction report, meanwhile, made reference to police finding open containers of alcohol in Wiens' truck and detecting the smell of marijuana. Wiens was a suspended driver at the time. Deprez apologized to Wiens' family, saying she was 'extremely sorry' for her decision to drink and drive. 'I am a mother as well, so I sympathize with you 100 per cent,' she said. 'I'm not taking any of this lightly. I wish none of this ever happened.' Champagne prohibited Deprez from driving for five years following the completion of her prison sentence. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
21 hours ago
- CBC
Judge delays bail decision for driver accused of hitting unhoused woman in Brossard, Que.
A Quebec judge will decide Monday whether a man accused of deliberately hitting an unhoused woman with his car will be granted bail. The judge in a Longueuil, Que., courthouse said the evidence presented was worrisome and that he needed the weekend to deliberate. This follows charges laid against 46-year-old Luigi Fragomele in connection with a hit and run in Brossard, Que., last week that seriously injured a 44-year-old woman experiencing homelessness. Fragomele is charged with dangerous driving, assault with a weapon — a vehicle — leaving the scene of an accident and mischief. The incident occurred on a residential street, beside a makeshift encampment that residents said appeared the day before the alleged assault on May 27. The Crown argued Thursday that the accused poses a threat to public safety. To support its case, the Crown presented surveillance footage from a nearby business showing the accused's car entering the area where the encampment was located — twice. The court also heard 911 calls denouncing the incident and the testimony of a neighbour, who said Fragomele had remarked that "he was going to take care of it" during a conversation about the encampment. The neighbour testified that after hearing screams, she saw Fragomele return to his home a few minutes later and that he did not answer when she knocked on his door. The victim is recovering from surgery for a broken ankle. Fragomele was questioned by the Crown, the defence and the judge. He introduced himself by stating his name, date of birth, address and astrological sign. He denied having anger-management issues when questioned by the Crown, but told the judge he can't predict how he will react in new situations. Defence lawyer Eric Coulombe proposed several conditions for Fragomele's release, including that he give up his driver's licence and live with his father, who resides near his workplace. The family was willing to post $10,000 in bail. The Crown opposed the release, arguing that granting bail would undermine public trust, considering the attack seemed gratuitous in nature and occurred in the context of a housing crisis and rising violence against people experiencing homelessness. Fragomele stood in the prisoner's box in handcuffs as the judge announced his decision to postpone the bail ruling.
