Brigitte Clare – who has been pretending to be a nurse and teacher in at least three provinces and two US states for decades – was sentenced to seven years for presenting a nurse at two health facilities in Ottawa last year and using needles on patients when she was unqualified.
The 50-year-old pleaded guilty in January to seven counts, including impersonation, assault and assault, and was convicted Friday by Ontario Judge Robert Wadden.
Her crimes stem from a brief stint at the OriginElle Fertility Clinic in Ottawa and the Argyle Associates Dental Surgery Clinic in 2021, which identified 20 victims she physically handled or used needles, Wadden told the court. She pretends to be a real nurse, Melanie Smith of BC, to get the job.
In a statement about the victim’s impact, a former patient said that undergoing in vitro fertilization was stressful enough and needed treatment after realizing that she had been treated for fraud.
Another patient at the fertility clinic said she had a “strong sense of betrayal” and the mother of a child being cared for by Clare described being stressed by the revelation that she was unqualified, Wadden told the court.
Crown Prince Moiz Karimji’s lawyer has demanded a 10-year sentence, while Ronald Gertin’s lawyer has asked for four to five years.
Given the time she has already served in prison – Clare is in custody since her arrest by Ottawa police in August 2021 – the remainder of her sentence is up to five years and eight months in federal prison, Wadden said.
She must also obey a DNA order and has been barred from possessing a weapon for 10 years.
“Presenting ourselves as a medical professional undermines the trust that our society places in our healthcare system,” Wadden told the court.
Cleroux’s actions “made everyone doubt the integrity” of this system “and the trust of the nurse, who is one of the most hard-working and highly regarded professions in this country.”
67 adult sentences, more as a juvenile
Clare has a long criminal record in Canada and the United States, including 67 adult convictions and others since she was young, Wadden told the court.
She was born and raised in Ottawa, had a troubled relationship with her parents, engaged in theft as a young woman and moved to the United States, where she received sentences, Wadden said. In Colorado, she studied nursing but did not graduate.
Although Cleroux received training in the beauty industry and worked in the field for some time, she was trained as a restaurant manager and legally worked in British Columbia as an unregulated healthcare provider, she instead chose to get a job as a nurse because he paid more, Wadden said.
A psychiatric report issued by the court found that Clare was suffering from a number of personality disorders and was committing fraud to calm her feelings. And while Clare confessed to what she did, she continued to present herself as a victim, Wadden told the court.
The judge also said the psychiatrist who performed the assessment was “pessimistic” about Clare’s prognosis.
Cleroux, with her hair up, blue surgical mask, black shirt and white blazer, appears to be crying as she talks to her lawyer after Wadden completes his sentence.
In September 2021, when Ottawa police charged Cleroux, they took the unusual step of releasing a photo of her because she used pseudonyms and may have worked elsewhere.
Similar charges have been filed in Vancouver
Regulators for nurses in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario have issued cleroux alerts in the past. The College of Nursing in Ontario lists Cleroux and her aliases on a website, alerting potential employers to people posing as nurses.
According to the college, Clare’s nicknames in the Ottawa region include Brigitte Marie, Brigitte Fournier, Melanie Clare, Melanie Gauthier, Melanie Thompson and Melanie Smith.
Nearly three months after Ottawa police filed charges against Cleroux, Vancouver police said they were facing charges there of allegedly representing a nurse at BC Women’s Hospital for a year.
Her next appearance on charges in Vancouver is scheduled for May, according to court records.
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