MONTREAL -- A reward trip for a job well done has turned into a legal nightmare for a Quebec mother of three who is in a Bahamas jail for the alleged sexual assault of a year-old bearded boy she believed was an adult. Karine Gagne's mother, Chantale Auclair, says her daughter and the American boy had a sexual encounter on a cruise ship earlier this month, but insisted that Gagne thought the six-foot-plus adolescent was Gagne, 23, left Jan.
Auclair, who recently returned from the Bahamas, said her daughter told her they met the alleged victim at a casino and bar area, where they chatted and danced during the night. The two were then confronted by the boy's mother, who filed a complaint with police despite her son's pleas to the contrary.
Gagne, whose daughters are 3, 4 and 5, was later arrested and remains detained. Auclair said several questions remain unanswered, including how a teenager found himself in an area of the ship normally reserved for adults and was allegedly drinking.
Friends and relatives are using online fundraising and a benefit at a local sugar shack to try to raise money to offset Gagne's legal costs, a possible bail amount and a plane ticket home. Gagne has two part-time jobs and Auclair said her daughter can't afford to pay all the costs by herself.
He said he hasn't been able to speak directly to his daughter and has heard different things about what happened that night. She added Gagne is particularly worried about the impact on her kids back in Quebec.
