A hundred people gathered in front of the Quebec courthouse at noon to protest against the decision of judge Matthieu Poliquin who absolved a sexual aggressor.
• Read also: Absolution after a sexual assault: Simon Jolin-Barrette is “deeply shocked”
• Read also: Absolution after a sexual assault: the engineer loses his job
• Read also: He goes after a drunk friend: no criminal record for a sex-abusing engineer
“Our anger is great,” said Audrée Houle, of the Center Femmes d’Aujourd’hui, addressing this afternoon to a hundred demonstrators in front of the Quebec courthouse. They are against the decision rendered by Matthieu Poliquin, a judge from Trois-Rivières who offered a conditional discharge to the sexual aggressor Simon Houle, because of his young age and his work as an engineer.
At the microphone, Audrée Houle affirmed that “this judgment constitutes violence against women”. “The flaws in the system are wide and it is women who too often suffer the consequences,” she added.
The director of the Viol aide organization was also on hand to denounce a “retrograde decision” which “disempowers the aggressors”. However, it places a lot of hope in the establishment of the specialized court for sexual assaults and the ongoing training given to judges.
Men were present in the flash action of this afternoon, but they preferred to refrain from commenting. “I prefer to let women speak,” said one of them.
Slogans attacking the judge were also sung, such as: “Poliquin, judge good for nothing”.
More details to come…