The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 6

EARLY EDITION THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, Z005 Francois Gagnon did not recognize me as a human being. He threw his hate at me. I still wear this hurt. 99 Victim's impact statement before rapist is declared a dangerous offender FASTTRA Rapist a dangerous TO BE IMPRISONED INDEFINITELY Serial predator Francois Gagnon left a trail of traumatized victims, judge says life are part of the 25-year-old woman's healing process, Gau-vin said it won't make a difference for others. "They're trying to cope with this as best they can, but it's very hard," she said.

"They will live with this for the rest of their lives." Gagnon pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault with a weapon. His lawyer, Genevieve Brodeur had urged the judge to deplare Gagnon a long-term offender so he could get treatment and one day be reintegrated into society But the judge said Gagnon has shown few signs he can be cured. Two psychiatrists from the Pinel Institute evaluated Gagnon and testified he suffers from bra with a knife, raped her and made her perform oral sex. "The night' he violated me, Francois Gagnon did not recognize me as a human being," she said. "He threw his hate at me.

He laughed at me. He threatened to kill me. I still wear this hurt." The woman, who has shown up at all Gagnon's court dates, cried and embraced a friend as Bonin pronounced the sentence Crown prosecutor Anne Gau-vin also wiped away tears. "These are things that are hard to hear," she explained later. "It's never easy to hear the damage this causes to people." While coming to court and knowing Gagnon is likely to remain locked up for the rest of his major sexual deviance and borders on being a psychopath.

One psychiatrist said the best-case scenario for Gagnon was that treatment could reduce his risk of reoffending by a third; the worst outcome, he testified, was that therapy could make Gagnon worse. Bonin said this frightening prognosis was too great a risk for society to bear. Gagnon will be evaluated in seven years by the parole board to see if he has improved to the point he is no longer a threat. After the initial seven-year term, Gagnon can apply for release every two years. ahanes thegazette.canwest.com traumatized and emotionally scarred, Quebec Court Judge Jean-Pierre Bonin noted, citing impact statements from one of Gagnon's earliest casualties and his very last.

Bonin characterized the testimony of Gagnon's final victim as "very moving." She was assaulted weeks after Gagnon had got out of jail and had been placed on probation in the summer of 2002. Now 25, she testified at a pre-sentencing hearing about the humiliation she felt when Gagnon cut off her ALLISON HANES GAZETTE JUSTICE REPORTER Francois Gagnon has shattered so many lives that he deserves to spend the rest of his behind bars, a judge said yesterday as he declared the serial rapist a dangerous offender and locked him up indefinitely Gagnon, 33, sexually assaulted six young women over 11 years -raping and sodomizing them at knifepoint in parks, alleys and gas station bathrooms. His attacks left his victims what' new under the hood zr IS its sSij JV f- qL 7 -sat rr; i pjjjji "LlIJMWrtfc. L- MUM IIIIJIL UI1L. ppAMMtel KrZZZ.n Judge sues after airplane crash; brother was pilot 5 Superior Court Justice Louis de Blois, the sole survivor of a May 2002 plane crash, is suing the aviation company owned by his late brother, who piloted the Cessna 180 that went down in Des Passes Lake near La Tuque.

The crash killed the pilot and a second passenger. De Blois and four heirs of the second passen-ger seek more than $330,000 in damages from Air Camera and its insurer, Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers. In documents submitted to Superior Court, pilot Marc de Blois is accused of failing to maintain full power amid strong winds after takeoff. The error caused the plane to lose altitude and crash, the complainants allege. New planetarium to rise near Big 0 The city of Montreal has decided to build a new, $31-million planetarium near Olympic Stadium, next to the Biodome, Botanical Garden and Insectari-um.

Helen Fotopulos, the city rf executive committee member responsible for parks and museums, formally announced the -decision yesterday She predicted the facility's "full-dome video technology," combined with the new location, would lure twice as many visitors as -the current planetarium at Peel and Notre Dame Sts. now does. The city is discussing with the federal and provincial governments how to cover the public portion of the funding. Alcan has already agreed to partici- pate financially in the project. Ethics committee suspends SQ cop A Suretedu Quebec officer has been ordered suspended with- out pay for 10 days for divulging a man's criminal record to a I third party in violation of the police ethics code.

Sgt. Francois Panneton was asked by his sis- rt ter to help a friend who was be- 1 ing harassed by a jilted lover. Panneton looked up the man's -I criminal record, then went to DeuxMontagnesonhisdayoff 1 to share the information with his sister's friend- and per- suade her to press charges against the man. The ethics committee ruled that Panneton, who is based in Montreal and has 15 years' experience, used his access to police files for his own personal interest, going be- yond both his jurisdiction and his competence. Hearing date set on sex charges A hearing is be held Oct.

14 to determine whether there is enough evidence to try city councillor Laurent Dugas on charges of molesting a 17-year-old boy A former high school principal, Dugas was hit in Sep-' tember with one count of sexual assault and one of sexually touching a minor under his authority The charges stem from an incident that is alleged to have occurred in October 2003. Dugas, 57, stepped down from his job as majority leader at city hall and from Montreal Mayor i Gerald Tremblay's party The October date was the first avail-able for the preliminary hear-ing, crown prosecutor Marc-Andre Peloquin explained. Cars pile up Three separate multi-vehicle pile-ups occurred almost simul- taneously on Highway 13 south yesterday morning. Only two i motorists suffered minor in- juries. The accidents occurred around 9:30 a.m.

near Notre '1 Dame Blvd. in Laval, where four cars were damaged; near the bridge spanning Riviere des Prairies, where five more cars -A collided, and near Gouin which added 15 cars to the toll. The Suretedu Quebec said blinding reflection of sunlight onwetpavementlikelyreduced visibility THE GAZETTE, PRESSE CANADIENNE PIERRE OBENDRAUF THE GAZETTE Lee Nankoo inspects a custom-modified Chevy S-10 pickup truck stuffed with speakers, an Xbox computer game console and hydraulic lifts, at the Montreal auto show, which opens to the public today at the Palais des congres. Also featured at the 37th edition of the show will be Ferrari, Bentley and Aston Martin collections with specimens worth up to $366,000 and a prized car collection belonging to Quebec actor Michel Barrette. The auto show will be open from 10 a.m.

to 10 p.m. through Saturday, Jan. 22, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan.

23. Admission for adults is $12, $10 for students and seniors, $4 for children 6 to 12. Take a look at The prosecutor explained that a DNA sample was obtained from Usereau nearly a year after the March 21, 2001, crime, when police zeroed in on him as the prime suspect and put him under surveillance. After he dined at a restaurant with a friend, police moved in Crown contends accused shot his victim to eliminate a business rival. and seized the glass and straw from which Usereau had been drinking.

Bouthillier admitted the rest of the Crown's case will be circumstantial, based on eye-witness accounts of the masked gunmen and the testimony of friends and associates as to the motive for the slaying. Gunman's cap lost in scuffle expected to provide DNA evidence in murder trial Memorial planned for slain woman Native Friendship Centre worker describes Cynthia Kudjick as good person who got 'lost' SECURITY GUARD GUNNED DOWN IN AMBUSH Victim's girlfriend tackled assailant in vain effort to disarm him, jury is told with her longtime boyfriend in December. Kudjick had been living in Montreal on and off since her late teens, Pisuktie recalled. She had become addicted to drugs and turned to prostitution to support her habit and that of her boyfriend. "Cynthia was a good person who was just lost, like a lot of our people are out there," Pisuktie said.

"No one will ever know the true pain she suffered, yet there she was, still trying to help someone, even if it was her drug-addicted boyfriend," Gina Gasongi Simon, executive director of the National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence, said yesterday from Ottawa headquarters. "Her ways and means to cope with her harsh reality were always to provide comfort," Simon noted. "I wonder how many men she brought comfort to while working the streets. "Hopefully, the people Cynthia came into contact with could mourn her loss as someone never given a chance to prove her true worth to society," she added. "Now that is our loss." mking thegazette.canwest.com 4 The Crown intends to call 45 witnesses to the stand, including police, forensics experts, and neighbours and passers-by who witnessed the slaying in the Plateau Mont Royal neighbourhood.

The Crown's theory of the crime, Bouthillier said, is that Usereau eliminated Melkonian when he opened his own security firm and won a $21,000 contract to patrol a rave. In the weeks before the shooting, Usereau tried to underbid Melkonian for the rave at $11,000, but still didn't get the contract. Before that, both Usereau and Melkonian had been friends who worked together at the same firm. Yesterday, police officers began presenting technical evidence recovered at the crime scene, including bullet, shells and a handgun. Fragman is to testify today about the night Melkonian was killed.

She was shot in the arm and badly beaten trying to defend him. ahanes thegazette.canwest.com MIKE KING THE GAZETTE The Native Friendship Centre of Montreal is preparing a memorial service for the city's first reported homicide victim of 2005. Cynthia Kudjick, 35, was a homeless aboriginal woman from the Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec. She was severely beaten in the downtown red-light district on the night of Jan. 3 and died in a hospital early the next morning.

Although police continue to investigate what they are calling Kudjick's murder, the provincial "Her ways and means to cope was always to provide comfort." Aboriginal worker Cina Simon chief coroner's office is still awaiting toxicology results before confirming her death a homicide. Annie Pisuktie, an outreach worker at the Friendship Centre, said Kudjick was last seen there at its Christmas party last month. She was also spotted picking up a holiday food basket ALLISON HANES GAZETTE JUSTICE REPORTER The killer who ambushed Jean-Jacques Melkonian and his girlfriend in a hail of bullets outside their St. Louis Square apartment was masked and hooded to conceal his identity But he lost his hat in a scuffle with Melkonian's girlfriend, Stephanie Fragman, when she jumped on his back in a futile attempt to disarm him. That cap is the centrepiece of the Crown's case against Michel Usereau, a former police officer and owner of a rival security company, who is charged with pulling the trigger.

As Usereau's trial on first-degree murder and attempted murder got under way yesterday prosecutor Louis Bouthilli-er said DNA evidence later linked the hat to the defendant. "DNA is the best evidence," he told the seven-man, five-j woman jury "There's no better.".