Simon Houle, the engineer who received a conditional discharge on June 21 after being convicted of sexual assault, could find himself in embarrassment as a woman accuses him of sexual touching in Cayo Coco, in Cuba.
The information was first published by Radio-Canada on Monday morning. Vickie Vachon, a 40-year-old teacher, said the 30-year-old “grabbed her buttock in a very, very intense, very aggressive way — a very big handful of buttocks” — on the night of 3 to July 4.
The Laurentians resident says she accompanied her to her room with a few people, including Simon Houle, a friend who wanted to go to sleep. She had met the engineer that night at the hotel bar after he joined her group of friends. The assault allegedly occurred on the way home. She allegedly kicked him in the shin and verbally put him in his place after these gestures, and at least one person witnessed the events. Simon Houle’s lawyer, Mr.e Pierre Spain, had not responded to our emails at the time these lines were written.
It was on her return to Quebec that the woman learned that her alleged attacker had just received a conditional discharge in a sexual assault case.
She filed a complaint with the Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Board last Thursday, she told the To have to, and had no news as of Monday. “The sergeant told me he wasn’t sure he had the jurisdiction to intervene,” she said.
Joined by The duty, the spokesman for the police department, Jean-Philippe Labbé, affirms that there will indeed be an investigation. ” We go [la] pretend it happened here,” he said. The complainant, potential witnesses and the suspect will be interviewed; the result of the exercise will then be submitted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
The file was put “on the top stack,” he insists. “It is certain that this file will still be dealt with relatively quickly. »
Non-compliance with the conditions?
Since the facts would have occurred outside the country, it is unlikely that the whole thing will lead to criminal charges, points out to the To have to criminal lawyer Charles B. Côté.
But Simon Houle would not necessarily come out unscathed, he notes. Because although the actions alleged by Mme Vachon would have occurred abroad, it could be demonstrated that the engineer broke the condition of good conduct linked to his absolution, affirms Me Side. “There is no territory that applies to that. »
In his judgment, Judge Matthieu Poliquin granted an absolution with probation for three years – on condition, however, of “not disturbing public order and of good conduct”.
The presence of witnesses could help to make this demonstration. “Once the police department’s investigation is complete, it will be forwarded to the DPCP, who could then bring Simon Houle back before Judge Poliquin to have the discharge revoked,” said Ms.e Side.
Controversial judgment
Simon Houle had pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and voyeurism. Judge Poliquin noted that the 30-year-old man had recognized his wrongs from the outset, had started therapy, that he had “strong potential for social reintegration” and that ” [son] risk of recurrence [était] weak “. Without being perfect, he is a person “of good character”, wrote the judge, who considered that a conviction would have “particularly negative and disproportionate consequences” on the engineering career of Simon Houle.
The DPCP appealed this decision.
In an email sent to To have to in response to the new information circulating, a spokesperson for the organization pointed out that, “without commenting on Mr. Houle’s case, there are precedents in Canadian law recognizing the sanction of a breach of an order probation abroad. “We bring to your attention Section 730(4) of the Criminal Code, which allows for the setting aside of a discharge where a person subject to the terms of a probation order is convicted of an offence, including breach of a probation order,” wrote Ms.e Patricia Johnson.
“Apart from our intention to file a request for permission to appeal the decision rendered in this case, the DPCP does not have any public information at this time. The motion will be filed no later than July 21 at the registry of the Quebec Court of Appeal,” she said. Otherwise, the decision to initiate criminal proceedings when the crime alleged against Mr. Houle was allegedly committed abroad “is based on a legal analysis [qui] must be carried out in the light of all the circumstances”, underlines the spokesperson.