(Saint-Hyacinthe) Daphné* is terrified. Her boyfriend is spitting insults at her. Suddenly, he accelerates to 240 km/h… A former hockey player put a woman through hell while he was playing for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs farm clubs.
What you need to know
- Gabriel Gagné is accused of sexually assaulting and repeatedly assaulting a woman.
- Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2015, the accused allegedly committed these acts while playing in the American Hockey League.
- Already found guilty of harassment and luring a minor, he is awaiting trial in two other sexual assault cases.
Gabriel Gagné’s trial opened Monday at the Saint-Hyacinthe courthouse. The 27-year-old athlete is accused of assault, sexual assault, threats and assault with a weapon against Daphné. It is worth noting that this is his third trial for sexual assault this summer. He is accused of raping two other women in 2016.
“I was in survival mode,” Daphné summed up. Sitting at the bar, the young woman placed a hand on an emotional support dog. The animal would accompany her throughout the day. To allow the complainant to testify calmly, Gabriel Gagné was in a small conference room, located a few steps away.
A court order protects Daphne’s identity. We are omitting some details of the case for this reason.
Daphné knew nothing about hockey when Gabriel Gagné wrote to her for the first time on Instagram. But she quickly fell under his spell. The former Victoriaville Tigres and Shawinigan Cataractes player was drafted in 2e round by the Ottawa Senators in 2015. Anything seemed possible for this 6’5″ colossus.
But behind the talented hockey player was a violent and controlling man who consumed a lot of drugs and alcohol, according to Daphné’s account. Her relationship with Gabriel Gagné was an “ordeal” and a “nightmare,” she testified Monday before Judge Marc-André Gauthier.
“He’s unwinding”
A first episode was the “trigger point”. During a party, Daphné saw him writing to another girl. She wanted to leave. “He followed me, calling me names. He threw a trash can at me. But his friend put his foot down so I wouldn’t get it. I was stunned. His friend said: ‘He’s stressed, he’s had his season, he’s unwinding,’” says Daphné.
From then on, violence set in in their relationship. Gabriel Gagné constantly insulted and denigrated Daphné. In the evening, he continually demanded sexual relations. “He wouldn’t let go. It could last for hours,” she sums up.
One evening, Daphné confronts him about his other relationships. She gathers her things to leave. But exhausted, she goes back to bed. Gabriel Gagné then penetrates her against her will, according to her. “I started to cry. I really didn’t want to,” she says.
In the future, Daphné decides to “buy peace.” To sleep at night, she lets it happen. She closes her eyes and starts to cry. “I was waiting for it to end,” she says. These unwanted relationships happen several times, she maintains. At the same time, Gabriel Gagné plays for an American Hockey League club. He is one recall away from the National League.
The episodes of violence accumulate. One night, he throws a metal stool at his legs. Or a metal watch. The colossus tells him: “Leave me alone and you’ll know what hell is. I’ll take care of you.”
Daphne feels trapped.
“You’re going to eat a lot of it!”
After a party, Gabriel Gagné took the wheel. He insisted that she get in with him. On the way, she demanded to get out of the vehicle. “I was scared. He was super aggressive,” she testified. That’s when he accelerated to 240 km/h and threatened to kill them.
“I was terrified,” she sighs.
Another time, Gabriel Gagné grabbed her by the throat and showed her his fist. The giant shouted at her: “At some point, you’re going to eat a tabarnak!” For her safety, she let him attack her, she says.
During yet another crisis, Gabriel Gagné grabs a 40-pound dumbbell and brandishes it over Daphné. At the last second, someone close to Daphné intervenes and orders him to leave. It’s the beginning of the end. But a few days later, their relationship ends with a particularly trying sexual assault.
“At that moment, I was crying, crying, crying. Big tears. He just penetrated me. My tears were flowing. In my head, it was empty,” she told the court.
But Gabriel Gagné doesn’t let go of Daphné. He calls her constantly. He creates fake accounts on social networks to contact her. For months, the woman is terrified. He even writes to her: “I’m going to burn your house down. You’ll see the consequences. I paid someone to kill you. I’m not afraid of the police.”
It was too much. Daphne filed a complaint with the police. “I was at the end of my rope,” she said.
His testimony continues on Tuesday. Me Marie-Claude Morin represents the public prosecutor, while Me Maxime Raymond defends the accused.
*Fictitious name
Other convictions
In 2023, Gabriel Gagné was sentenced to six months in prison at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse for harassing an ex-girlfriend. Then, in January 2024, he pleaded guilty to luring a teenage girl under the age of 16. He was sentenced to a few months in prison.