© The Sudbury Star
When Trina Breault began to suffer from chronic pain, she tried everything to make it go away. She talked to every specialist she could find and tried every treatment they recommended.
When nothing seemed to work, she turned to Claude Provencher, a self-proclaimed faith healer with offices in Sudbury and New Liskeard. Provencher has said he believes he has a God-given gift to heal people with a touch of his hands.
A family friend recommended Provencher to Breault, who did not advertise his services.
"I had been told he had these special gifts from God," Breault said. "Some had even referred to him as being God's second son."
Breault said the sessions, which lasted about 30 minutes and cost $40 a pop, got progressively more uncomfortable. "You're expected to get naked and you would lay on a table," she said. "You weren't covered. You were exposed."
It was the last session, Breault said, when Provencher crossed the line. Breault had asked for her husband to be present for the session. She said that upset Provencher, "and (he) ranted at me."
After that meeting, she pressed charges of sexual assault.
On Jan. 21, Provencher was convicted of six counts of sexual assault and 22 counts of breach of recognizance and probation at the Superior Court in Haileybury. He will be sentenced May 27.
