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Convicted Killer Pleads Guilty to Murdering Sex Worker While Out on Parole

Quebec city police found Marylène Levesque's body after Eustachio Gallese turned himself in on January 23.
Marylène Levesque
Marylène Levesque (Facebook)

A man serving a life sentence for killing his partner has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of a 22-year-old sex worker while out on day parole, according to news reports.

Eustachio Gallese, 51, was in a Quebec City courtroom on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to killing Marylène Levesque.

Police found Levesque’s body at a hotel in Quebec City’s Ste-Foy district after Gallese turned himself into local police on January 23.

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Gallese had been granted day parole for good behaviour after serving 15 years of his life sentence for brutally killing his girlfriend. According to a written decision, Canada’s Parole Board gave Gallese permission to satiate his “sexual needs”—even though he wasn’t allowed to date—after completing a risk assessment that determined Gallese’s likelihood to reoffend was “moderate to low.”

While out on parole, Gallese visited erotic massage parlours before being banned from the premises for allegedly abusing sex workers. Levesque then agreed to meet Gallese privately at the Quebec City hotel where her body was found, according to several reports.

The case sparked international attention and spurred several calls from sex workers and politicians to decriminalize sex work. A joint investigation between the parole board and Corrections Canada is now underway to determine how and why a convicted killer’s libido was referenced in a risk assessment decision.

Gallese was originally charged with second-degree murder, which was stayed before the Crown presented the 51-year-old with a first-degree murder charge.

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