Evans Lescouflair was apprehended in Panama on Saturday by Interpol agents, Zoom Haiti News learned from corroborating sources. The information is relayed by Radio Télé Métronome and Haiti Tempo. The former Secretary of State for Sport was the subject of an international arrest warrant for accusations of sexual abuse and rape of minors.
Evans Lescouflair remains at the throat of Claude Alix Bertrand, former captain of the Haitian national polo team, who accuses him of having raped him when he was a minor.
The facts would have occurred at the end of the 80s when Claude Alix Bertrand attended the Institution Saint-Louis de Gonzague and Evans Lescouflair officiated as a sports instructor.
Claude-Alix Bertrand, now 48 years old, revealed that he began to be sexually abused by Evans Lescouflair at the age of 11. “Sexual touching followed by repeated rapes for about 2 years,” he denounced.
He explained that his ordeal began one afternoon when, at the end of a physical activity session, the former minister of sports asked him to wait for him at his office, claiming that he had not been too “enthusiastic”. When he arrived, he asked her to take off her pants and started touching her private parts. Sexual touching during a few meetings before penetrating him and raping him without caring about his cries and his screams.
The little Claude Alix Bertrand said he was living a nightmare, because he could not find the means to alert his parents, arguing that Mr. Lescouflair had an influence. He became ill and was forced to stay away from school for some time. One day, he recounted, the teacher even went to his home to meet with his parents to offer his help because his grades were falling. From there, Evans Lescouflair was able to better satisfy his sexual needs, said Claude Alix Bertrand, stressing that he was psychologically damaged.
He stressed that the after-effects of Mr. Lescouflair’s actions continued throughout his youth, indicating that he had nightmares all the time and had lost a lot of weight. He waited many years before informing his parents of these brutalities and found the necessary comfort thanks to the support of psychoanalysts and psychiatrists.
Today, Claude Alix Bertrand says he feels a great sadness to talk about this situation. But he says he feels relieved. He intends to raise awareness about the evils of rape, a scourge that does not only affect women, he assured. He also feels a duty of responsibility and protection towards young people, especially young boys, and hopes that his story will help children and parents to be more vigilant.
Claude-Alix Bertrand, current representative of Haiti to UNESCO and owner of Polo Life Style, can count on the support of the alumni of Saint-Louis de Gonzague, which said it was “appalled by this painful testimony of a former student and condemns, with the utmost rigor, any form of violence and aggression perpetrated on any person and especially on children.
The former Minister of Youth, Sports and Civic Action (MJSAC), had refuted these accusations, indicating that he was facing a well-orchestrated scheme.
In 2010, Evans Willio Dor, a former employee of the Youth Support Center (CDAJ), headed by Lescouflair, had filed a complaint of rape and pedophilia against the former Minister of Sports. The complaint was dismissed by the Port-au-Prince prosecutor’s office.
