Former hockey player Noah Corson, found guilty of sexual assault with other people in early February, is appealing his verdict. The main person concerned risks a minimum of five years in prison, since the victim was under 16 years old at the time of the facts.
This was confirmed on Wednesday by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). The notice of appeal was filed with the court a few days ago, last Friday, said the DPCP. Mr. Corson had a maximum period of 30 days to appeal the verdict.
At the beginning of February, Judge Paul Dunnigan ruled, maintaining that the former hockey player “did not take all reasonable measures” to verify the age of his 15-year-old victim, even though he was an adult, during a group sex relationship in 2016.
The magistrate shortly after found him guilty of sexual assault with other people, ruling that “there is no need to decide other questions to arrive at the verdict”, the legal age of consent being 16 years old.
The Sherbrooke resident, now 25 years old, has been in the courts for some time now. The initial trial began a few months earlier, last November, at the Drummondville courthouse.
An idea of the matter
We have to go back to 2016 to fully understand this matter. That year, Noah Corson, son of ex-Canadian player Shayne Corson, was an 18-year-old hockey player with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. One evening, while he was sitting at La Cage aux Sports with his two minor accomplices, one of them invited the complainant – whom he met on social networks – and a friend to join them.
The evening then continued at the 15-year-old’s apartment, where it is understood that group sexual activity took place. At the trial, the complainant said she had performed oral sex on one of the boys while another assaulted her. She did not consent, she had certified.
Until now, the observations of the Crown and the defense on the sentence were to take place on May 3, but everything indicates that the announcement of an appeal risks changing this deadline.
Remember that Noah Corson’s two accomplices, 17-year-old hockey players, have already pleaded guilty in the Youth Chamber. Their identity is therefore protected by an order, just like that of the victim. At the time of the events, it was Mr. Corson himself who first made reference to a possible “three-way trip”, which would have created unease among the group, Judge Dunnigan recounted.
“She remembers telling them she didn’t want to have sex. […] It was a firm no,” noted the magistrate on Friday, repeating the victim’s testimony. After the attack, the three young men left the room where the victim “remained alone, destabilized and crying”.