A former Quebec artists’ agent and founder of the Santa Teresa Alternative Music Festival has been acquitted after being accused of sex crimes against a minor.
As part of a global agreement reached between the prosecutors, Julien Aidelbaum-Valade, aged 32, however agreed to sign a recognizance under section 810.1 of the Criminal Code, by which he acknowledges that the investigator of police on file have reasonable grounds to fear that he may harm a person under the age of 16. It does not mean that a crime has been committed.
Last Friday, before Judge Sylvie Durand of the Court of Quebec, the man who was in the past manager of artists like Alex Nevsky and Loud Lary Ajust, therefore agreed to keep the peace and to be subject to a series of conditions for a period of one year, confirmed Thursday the crown prosecutor responsible for this case, Me Jérôme Laflamme.
The man had been charged in 2021 with various crimes including incitement to sexual contact with a minor, obtaining sexual services for consideration from a person under the age of 18 and computer luring. The facts behind these accusations, dating back to 2020, have not been made public and, given the agreement that has occurred, will not be.
Since the indictment, Julien Aidelbaum-Valade has taken many personal steps, said Me Laflamme. This process and its commitment under article 810.1 tend to fulfill the objective of protecting the public.
This type of undertaking before the Court is not uncommon and is generally concluded within the framework of agreements negotiated between prosecutors, sometimes when there is concern that the evidence in the file is not sufficient to obtain a conviction.
If Julien Aidelbaum-Valade does not respect the conditions imposed — not to communicate with the minor named in the police information, not to be near him and not to occupy a job in which he would be in a position of authority over minors, among others — he could be charged with breach of conditions, which is a criminal offence.