Singer and actor Luck Mervil intends to plead not guilty to one count of sexual assault which allegedly took place more than 23 years ago, in Rimouski.
According to the indictment, this attack took place during the night of June 23 to 24, 2000. However, criminal proceedings were only initiated last November.
The case was called again before a judge, Monday morning, at the Rimouski courthouse.
The lawyer who represented the accused, Me Anne-Marie Drouin, informed the Court that her client wished to plead not guilty. The plea, however, has not been officially recorded.
She added that she had received the evidence that the Crown has against Mr. Mervil, now 57 years old. In court on Monday, the Crown prosecutor then indicated that she had additional evidence to transmit to the defense.
The case is due to return to court in February. Luck Mervil, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Previous legal disputes
These are not the first troubles before the law of the singer and host, Lucknerson Mervil, his real name.
He was arrested in 2014 and accused of sexually assaulting and touching a 17-year-old girl. The alleged actions took place in 1996 in Montreal, when he was 28 years old. These charges were amended shortly before the trial to two counts of sexual exploitation. He eventually pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation, namely having sexual contact with a teenage girl over whom he was in a position of authority, the other count having been excluded during the negotiation of advocacy.
Mr. Mervil received his sentence in 2018 and was sentenced to six months of home confinement.
He also had to register on the national register of sex offenders for a period of 20 years. Last year, however, the man requested that his name be removed from the register by a petition filed in Superior Court. The Crown has indicated that it will contest his request. The motion had not yet been pleaded when this new charge of sexual assault was filed. It was supposed to be in December, but has since been put on ice.