Seven: Child Witnesses - 'By Psychological Definition... A Disservice to the True End of Justice': Soulière, 1951-52

• Author: Constance Backhouse
• Pages: 165-192



Chapter

CHILDWIT NESSESBY

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFINITION . . .

A DISSERVICE TO THE TRUE END

OFJUSTICESoulière

MThasbeenchangedtoprotec therprivacywas

barelyveyears oldShe bravelystoodup astallas shecould musterbut

her slight frame must have been dwarfed by the witness box in the impos

ingcourtroominHullQuébeconDecemberThetaleshehadtotell

wasshocki ngbutsadly commonplaceShe pointedto fortysevenyearold

Ovila Soulièreand identiedhim ast heman whohads exuallyassaulted

herinthe latesummerofFewrecordssurvivefor thiscasema kingit

diculttoreconstructt henarrativeindetailHowevertheresultisknown

OvilaSoulièrewasconvictedattrialaverdictthatwaslaterquashedbythe

QuébecCour tof Appeal Despite the skeletal factual record, Marie Trem

blayscaseprovidesa useful illustrationof thediculties facingch ildvic

timsand anopportun itytoexplorethe doctrineofcorroborationoneof

the most signicant hurdles facing sexua l assault complainants It is also

fascinating for what it reveals about the perspectives of judges, jurors, legal

theoristsandso calledexp ertsaboutt hecredibil ityofwomenandc hildren

who claimed to be sexually assaulted.

AtleastsomeofthefactscanbediscernedMarieTremblaysparentswere

separatedShesharedatwostoreyhouseinSouthHullwithhermotherand

Ovila Soulière The French phrase viv ant marita lement was t ranslated in

the English report of the decision to descr ibe the couple as living “in concu

binageWhetherOvilaSoul ièresstatusa sMmeTremblaysloverpredated

orpostdatedhermarital breakdownwasamaerofspeculationWhatever

ﾅﾊﾊCarnalCrimes

thesituationas thejudgeswouldnoteitlelileMarieTremblaydansun

trèsmauvaismilieuinaverybadenvironment

OvilaJoseph Soulièrewash imselfmarr iedtoAdrienne Côtéwhomhe

had wedi n nearby Deschênes in A workingclass labourer f roma n

Outaouais family of unski lled labourers, Ovila held down a variety of jobs

thatoccasionallytookhimacrosstherivertoOawaasalabourerwiththe

federal district commission, a nd as a shipping clerk with an instrument re 

pairrmHedeniedMar ieTremblaysassertionsthathehadawake nedher

inherbed roomontheg roundoorofthe houseandabused hersexually

“JairienàdiredutoutsurlesujetdelapetitejesuisinnocentdelachoseJeconnais

riendelachose parcequelapetitellejeluiaijamaistouchéIhavenothing

atalltosayonthesubjectofthelilegirlIaminnocentoftheaairIknow

nothingaboutthemaerbecauseIhavenevertouchedthelilegirlMaries

mother sided with her paramour, insisting that Ovi la had never sexually

molested her daughter. She claimed that Marie slept in a bedroom next to

hersandnotonthegroundoorasthelilegirlhadsaidandthatOvilahad

neverlehisbedtogotoMaries

Hullwasa bluecollarpredomi nantlyfrancophonetown on thenort h

shoreof the OawaRiveracros sfrom the nationalc apitalof OawaIni

tially seledby anglophoneNew Englanders italtered itscomposition in

themidswhenFrenchCanadianindustrialworkersdisplacedtheearly

agriculturalselersAseriesofcatastrophicreswreakeddevastationupon

Hullsarch itectural pretensions culm inating with the Great Fire of 

whichlevelledtwothirdsofthepredominantlywoodenbuildingsNewsaw

millssteel foundrieslumberingmeatpacking andtextilei ndustriesblos

somed, crowned by the E.B. Eddy factories perched on the edge of the river.

DuringProhibitionworkingclassHulldevelopedabeertownreputation

andwasdubbedLileCh icagobyrevellersfromOnt ariowhocrossedby

ferryto drinkandgambleinspea keasiesonJacquesCart ierStreetButthe

citysindustrial infrastr ucturebegan tocr umblebythesand inferior

housinga ndworkertenements reected thesta rkpoverty andu nemploy

mentof mostresidents InHullwas stagnatinga cityt hathad seen

andwouldseebeerdays

Child Sexual Abuse

S  been a terrif ying reality for Canadian c hildren,

both male and female. Contrary to the opinion of modern commentators,