The former leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ) André Boisclair, sentenced last year to 24 months in prison for sexual assault, will soon no longer be behind bars. He was granted parole after serving a third of his sentence.
The Quebec Parole Board said on Monday that the former politician had “evolved” since his last decision, handed down in November, where he was described as reluctant to undergo therapy procedures. “Your speech demonstrates […] greater openness to intervention proposals,” reads the document.
Incarcerated since July 2022, Mr. Boisclair had the opportunity to be conditionally released in November. In a Commission decision, however, he was described as having an “arrogant attitude towards correctional officers”. “Two memos from October 2022 mention that you are on the verge of issuing a disciplinary report,” the document read.
Four months later, the former deputy of Gouin has “walked”, and his level of dangerousness is “low”, wrote the Commission in its decision rendered on Monday. “Release at this stage of your sentence, with follow-ups, conditions and supervision, remains, ultimately, an adequate measure to ensure the protection of the public,” she said.
Leader of the PQ from 2005 to 2007, Mr. Boisclair pleaded guilty last July to two counts of sexual assault for acts committed on two separate occasions in 2014 and 2015.
In a first case, the former elected official ordered two men to seize and enter the victim against his will – whose name is protected by a court order. In a second case, Mr. Boisclair forced his victim to perform unwanted sexual acts, including digital penetration. The victim told him to “stop” three times before he left him alone.