Crown wants Flesh Eating Youth Locked Up

[Desilets-1]

June 14, 1999
QUESNEL, B.C. (CP) -- A 17-year-old who raped a baby and mutilated himself
by eating his own flesh should be locked up indefinitely and given proper
treatment, a psychiatrist testified.
Court heard a disturbing day of testimony Monday as part of a Crown
application to have Adam Laboucan declared a dangerous offender despite his
youth.
Dr. Ian Postnikoff, a forensic psychiatrist who examined Laboucan,
testified even the youth himself believes he is a danger to the public.
"He said he was not planning a life of crime, but he felt he had no way to
control the flood of violent, murderous fantasies," Postnikoff said in B.C.
Supreme Court.
"While in custody, he would turn them against himself, but this high level
of self-mutilation, almost self-cannibalization, could be turned against
other, weaker individuals, with possibly fatal consequences."
The CBC reported that clinical psychologist Dr. Steve Sigmond testified
that when he examined Laboucan in 1997, the youth admitted drowning a
three-year-old boy in Quesnel in 1993. Because Laboucan was 11 at the time
of the offence, he could not be charged.
Postnikoff described how he met with Laboucan several times at the Youth
Containment Centre in Prince George following Laboucan's conviction in 1997
on sexual assault charges.
While in custody, Laboucan had seriously mutilated himself, chewing on his
own wrists on at least two occasions.
"He said that biting himself tended to ease the anger and frustration,"
Postnikoff testified.
"In one instance, he chewed on his arm for 30 minutes, ingesting fat and
muscle tissue."
Laboucan was convicted of sexually assaulting a three-month-old while he
was babysitting the boy in 1997 this Interior community.
The youth has been under assessment for the past two years and his sentence
will depend on the outcome of the dangerous offender application.
The child was so badly injured, he had to be flown to Vancouver for
reconstructive surgery.
Laboucan was 15 at the time of the offence. His case was raised to adult
court after a hearing.
Court heard the youth did not feel he had done anything wrong. Laboucan
himself was sexually abused when he was three, court heard
Postnikoff testified the youth needs intensive treatment.
"With the history and severity of the offences of Mr. Laboucan, it's
difficult to say how long his treatment would last," he said.
"He's not a regular sexual offender. I would say it would be a very long
time, possibly years. I would be very, very concerned to hear that Laboucan
would be released into the community in the near future."
Dr. Dierdre Ryan testified she examined Laboucan at B.C. Children's
Hospital in Vancouver in 1993 after the youth had been sent there for a
psychiatric assessment.
He had been linked to the 1993 drowning of a three-year-old boy in Quesnel.
Laboucan was not charged and the drowning was declared accidental.
Sigmond testified he assessed Laboucan in 1997 as part of the application
to raise the then-15-year-old to adult court on the sexual assault charge.
He said the teen demonstrated marginal intelligence, a lack of remorse and
a social personality disorder.
"His IQ fell between the fourth and seventh percentiles, which means
between 96 and 97 per cent would do better than him," he said.
"He is also markedly socially immature, with a very low capacity to
comprehend social consequences and the seriousness of his behaviour."
He noted that Laboucan had described having sexual fantasies about children
under the age of three and that he had a background of sexually intrusive
behaviours at school. No charges were laid.
The hearing continues today before Justice Victor Curtis.

http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Dangerous-Youth.html

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