The Quebec Superior Court is seen Wednesday, March 27, 2019 in Montreal. A Montreal man has been sentenced to 18 years prison for "buying" an 8-year-old girl in Africa and sexually exploiting her over a three-year period.
According to court documents, Sylvain Villemaire, a former school councillor, paid the girl's mother and claimed he would provide her with a good education in Canada. The girl's country of origin cannot be named due to a court order protecting her identity. Villemaire kept the girl as a prisoner until she was until she was 11, sexually exploiting her multiple times a week, at times with another person. Villemaire, 60, pleaded guilty to four charges in September 2020 and was found guilty of trafficking a minor and distribution of child pornography on Feb. 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz