But in Quebec, little girls aspire to be like her. For a decade they sang along to the child star's sweet songs and adopted her pageboy haircut after Simard was catapulted to stardom at the tender age of 10 in early 1980.

That's when she was whisked away from her home by talent manager Guy Cloutier to record blockbuster pop and Christmas hits. Later in her teens, she hosted her own show for youngsters every Sunday and had her own clothing line.

But 1980, when Quebecers were celebrating the discovery of her angelic voice, was also when she had her virginity stolen from her by Cloutier, and Simard began to silently live through two decades of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

The recent release of Simard's biography called "Briser le Silence" (Breaking the Silence) has made her the only topic of conversation at Quebec water coolers, providing every sordid and sickening detail of her years at the mercy of a pedophile who pulled her out of school in Grade 2 to profit from her voice.

Simard said the sexual abuse began with Cloutier forcing her to touch him sexually while stopped on the shoulder of a Montreal highway. The 40-year-old quickly progressed to raping her while she lay terrified on a futon in his Saint-Lambert den.

Michel Vastel, the author of Simard's biography published by Quebecor, accuses Cloutier of destroying the young singer during 24 years of mental cruelty, sexual perversions and financial plundering.

Simard said Cloutier told her his wife refused to satisfy him, so she would have to. He bragged that everything she would know about sex would come from him and that her boyfriends should thank him.

Simard repeatedly begged him to stop but he refused. She was acutely aware that he controlled her destiny as well as that of her superstar brother Rene and knew that disappointing him onstage or off would bring about the end of her career and the only life she knew.

Prior to charges being laid against Cloutier in March 2004, he was the most powerful man in Quebec's entertainment industry, producing the recordings of the province's top artists, representing the leading stars and producing popular television shows.

Cloutier had Simard's brother, then Quebec's singing teenage heartthrob Rene, become her legal guardian immediately after she left her mother's home. Cloutier was also Rene's manager and had met Simard during a visit to her family home near Quebec City.

With her Grade 2 education, Simard had difficulty understanding contracts she was asked to sign. In time, Cloutier stopped providing any documents for her to look over.

Her brother Rene drafted an understanding that saw his sister receive $500,000 in 1989 and then receive a $60,000 net salary until 1993, even though she was recording hit records, performed concerts across Quebec and hosted a TV show.

From 1993 to 1997, Simard's professional income dropped to zero, even though she recorded four records and was in two musical comedies during that time.

Cloutier began losing interest in Simard after her eighteenth birthday in 1987 and when his own daughter, Veronique, became a budding star. He did not force himself on Simard again until 2001.

Simard, who became increasingly paranoid that Cloutier would hurt her, decided to call Quebec's provincial police to press charges when her daughter celebrated her 10th birthday.

Cloutier pleaded guilty last fall to five of eight charges and was sentenced to 42 months in jail, which he's serving in solitary confinement for his own protection at St-Anne-des-Plaines federal prison north of Montreal.

In July 2004, to "protect the family assets," Veronique bought her father's entertainment empire after four months at the helm and renamed it Novem.

Veronique kept the majority of her father's 48 employees, but replaced his closest associates. The company had become the largest provider of TV shows picked up by Radio-Canada, the French-language television arm of CBC.

Vastel has slammed Radio-Canada's relationship with Novem, insisting that the Crown corporation is encouraging "productions that come from a pedophile."

LeBlanc said the family ties will not cause Radio-Canada to treat Novem's shows any differently than it has before, and they will be evaluated on their merit.

Since the trial, Simard has succeeded in lifting the publication ban on her name to allow her story to be told and settled her $1.2-million lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed amount.

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