Sergetalks Blog ~ The Official Blog of Serge LeClerc

Occasionally, I would sneak into a school during the day and pretend I was a regular student in the classroom. Often they gave me books which I loved to read.

I spent a lot of my time reading at the public library and always had a book in my back pocket. It was not unusual for me to get on the subway and ride all day—just reading. I would also read at night by candle light. Whenever the police discovered one of my squats, they always found a stash of books and magazines. I loved reading about the Vikings, especially stories that included the Norse god Thor. I read all the Grimms’ Tales and the Greek myths about Hercules and Zeus.

Another thing I loved (and still do) was movies. During my runaway days, I spent whole days in movie theatres. First, I would buy a loaf of warm bread from the bakery. Then I would go to the grocery store for butter (I generally stole that). Then I’d go to the theatre and eat while I watched one, two, and sometimes three movies in succession. Adventure films were my favorites; I loved to lose myself in the world of fantasy. (more…)

All this took place at a time when society was somehow innocent of the fact that predators and pedophiles existed. There has been much publicity in recent years about the wholesale abuse of First Nations children in residential schools, but abuse wasn’t confined only to First Nations schools. Whenever you place children in a situation where they have no power, no advocacy, and no ability to speak, where adults have complete authority over them, you will find a place to which pedophiles and predators gravitate. It is in these situations that they can have full control of the innocent and the power to gratify their sexual and emotional desires at the expense of the powerless.

After having my jaw broken in chapel, I flatly refused to attend services anymore. I spent more time in solitary confinement for that than most kids did for getting into more serious trouble.

Every Sunday the Brothers would say, “You’re going to chapel.” (more…)

For the trip to St. John’s Training School, I was put in a vehicle with a mesh screen separating me from the driver. I remember traveling down a road and going out into the country. It was a new experience for me. I had never been out of the city before.

St. John’s Training School was an ugly place. That was my first impression as we drove through the big steel gates. It had a rural, farm- like setting, but there was nothing peaceful or pastoral about it. The compound consisted of several austere, brown brick buildings and a barn. Much of the complex was surrounded by a chain-link fence. The rest was farm property adjacent to a small town where many of the staff lived.

I was immediately taken to the office of the Head Brother in charge of my assigned dormitory. There I had my hair shaved off, was issued a suit of clothing (blue shirt and pants, both about six inches too long, and black tennis shoes), given a blanket roll, and pointed to my bed.
Having never been hit or screamed at by an adult male to this point in my life, St. John’s Training School came as a new and terrifying experience. I instinctively rebelled against this environment that placed so much emphasis on shouting, hitting, and beating. (more…)

That evening, when I was by myself eating supper, I thought about what we were going to do and I knew I didn’t want to do it. I knew if we were caught, it would hurt my mother terribly. I decided I would tell the boy the next day that I would not go.

At noon on Friday, the boy said, “We’re going. Are you coming?” I said, “Yes.” In making that choice, I launched myself on a destructive path
that would result in years of untold pain and damage to myself and thousands of others.

We jumped on the streetcar and rode Uptown for some shoplifting. I was the lookout. The next thing I knew, the police were there and everybody was running. Being the youngest, with the shortest legs, I got caught. Everyone else got away.

I was arrested for truancy and taken to 311 Jarvis Street, the secure custody unit of the Juvenile Detention Centre. (more…)