A few days after the accusations of luring a teenage girl for a sexual purpose brought against Christophe Normand, the Alouettes remain in shock. Recall that in the hours following his arrest, the 30-year-old centre-back was suspended until further notice by the organization.
Posted at 5:37 p.m.
“It’s a really sad situation. Our thoughts go first to this young girl, who had a lot of courage to denounce this. At the moment, we have spoken a lot with the league over the weekend, and there are stages that have been determined because it is a first for a lot of people here,” commented the team president. , Mario Cecchini.
“We decided to suspend it quickly and we will advise over the next few days if there is a follow-up to this. The deadline is quite fast from a legal point of view when we are talking about a date in October. We will see what happens next. »
Father of two daughters, Cecchini was with them and his wife when he heard the news during the team’s break week.
“I think we’ve been educated enough in Quebec over the past few years, and even around the world… There’s a presumption of innocence and we all understand that. But when the police come to your house and everything is done within two weeks, it certainly means that this young girl had evidence to present to the police which was important, “said Cecchini.
As first reported The Voice of the EastNormand was charged with luring a person he believed to be under the age of 16, an act that allegedly occurred on August 9.
Like everyone else, I thought of our player, telling myself that I would never have thought that. [de lui]… But my first thoughts did not go to the player, but to the victim.
Mario Cecchini, President of the Alouettes
Like Cecchini, Danny Maciocia was stunned to learn that Normand had been charged with such a crime. “Like everyone else, I was in shock,” said the general manager and interim head coach, who discussed the situation with his players upon their return to work during a team meeting on Sunday. .
“It is a speech that will remain private. We talked about the situation for a few minutes, it was the first thing I wanted to talk about when we got back from our week off. I think the message was pretty clear and the players essentially share the same opinion as me. We said what needed to be said, but now we’re going to focus on the team,” said Maciocia.
“Everyone’s reaction was surprise and that’s the only thing I’m going to say about that. It was a shock for everyone,” commented Alexandre Gagné, who plays in the same position as Normand, that of centre-back.
“You know that we are not allowed to comment, but like everyone else, I was in shock. My thoughts go out to the families who are involved in this story. That’s all we can do for the moment,” said André Bolduc, who is the coach of the running backs and, therefore, of the centre-backs of the formation.