By Canadian Press

Victim of Quebec singer Luck Mervil tells court she felt completely at his mercy

May 18, 2018 | 1:15 PM

MONTREAL — A well-known Quebec singer will learn his sentence next Wednesday for the sexual exploitation of a 17-year-old girl in 1996.

The defence and the Crown jointly recommended Friday that Luck Mervil be given a six-month sentence in the community but Quebec court Judge Melanie Hebert is not bound by the suggestion.

Mervil, 50, was arrested in 2014 and charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation but they were changed to two counts of sexual exploitation and the Crown dropped one of those charges.

His victim, whose name is under a publication ban, testified Friday during his sentencing hearing she was traumatized at losing her virginity to the artist and felt completely at his mercy.

“I felt completely lost and I lived in shame,” she told the court as she read from a prepared statement. “I lost all my self-esteem.”

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She testified she suffered from anxiety attacks and quit school, which she said had a negative consequence on her job prospects and potential salary.

Mervil was 28 and in a position of authority at the time of the crime in 1996.

The Haitian-born singer also took the stand Friday, prompting the woman to leave the courtroom.

He apologized to her, saying he never should have committed the crime.

“Having a relation with someone who was 17-and-a-half when I was 28, that should not have happened,” Mervil said. “It’s a criminal act and I am ready to assume the consequences.”

He later described her as his lover and said there was “love, sharing, emotions.”

Crown prosecutor Anne Gauvin said she took into consideration the fact Mervil pleaded guilty and therefore avoided a painful trial for the victim.

Gauvin said the woman still lives with the consequences of his actions.

“She is a woman who has suffered and continues to suffer,” she said.

Philippe Larochelle, Mervil’s lawyer, told the judge his client had no prior convictions and doesn’t represent a risk to reoffend.

If the judge accepts the joint recommendation, Mervil would serve the first three months at home, 24 hours a day, and the last three months with a night curfew.

Stephanie Marin, The Canadian Press