Everything indicates that the Crown and the defense will present a joint suggestion to determine the sentence of the former PQ MP for Rimouski, Harold LeBel, convicted on November 23 of sexual assault.
The victim is a young woman who cannot be identified due to a publication ban.
The parties met by videoconference on Tuesday, in the presence of Judge Serge Francœur, and Mr.e Maxime Roy, Mr. LeBel’s lawyer, who was himself present at the hearing, explained that it would not be necessary to prepare a pre-sentence report.
According to Me Roy, the parties have enough information to set out the mitigating factors, the aggravating factors and the presence or absence of risks of recidivism, which are the basic elements used to determine an appropriate sentence.
Possible victim impact statement
The parties have therefore agreed to meet again on January 26, this time in person, at the Rimouski courthouse, in order to present the relevant elements of case law and the arguments in favor of their joint suggestion. Me Roy and his counterpart to the Crown, Me Manon Gaudreault, indicated that they had no additional evidence to present, but Ms.e Gaudreault explained that the victim could come and present an impact statement, but that the decision was not yet made.
Cautious, Judge Francœur also reserved the date of March 20 in case negotiations broke down between the parties for a joint suggestion, which would mean that January 26 and March 20 would be used for sentencing submissions.
Only two days of deliberations
The nine women and three men forming the jury had taken only two days to render a decision. They did not believe the version of the former PQ MP concerning the events that occurred in the fall of 2017 in his condominium in Rimouski. He claimed to have exchanged only a consensual kiss with the complainant before going to bed next to her and falling asleep immediately since his own bed was occupied by a second woman visiting.
The young woman, she had testified to the effect that the kiss in question was not consensual, that Harold LeBel had then tried to unfasten her bra while she was going to take refuge in the bathroom. He then allegedly tried to force his way into the bathroom, but was unsuccessful.
The complainant then recounted that she went to sleep in the guest bed and that the accused lay down beside her and indulged in fondling for several hours while she was petrified with fear. .
Long hesitation before the complaint
Although the events occurred in October 2017, the young woman did not file a complaint until the summer of 2020, saying she was afraid of the consequences for her and for her loved ones. It was in the wake of the #metoo movement and, above all, following the accusations made against the former leader of the Parti québécois, André Boisclair, that she had found the courage to file a complaint.
She had also consulted specialist bodies to ensure that the law would protect her identity. The police had arrested the deputy in December 2020.
As early as February 2020, however, she had sent an email to Harold LeBel reproaching him for the actions taken against him. He had replied that he had no memory of such events.
Before the Court, he asserted on several occasions that he did not perform any of the actions alleged by the plaintiff, with the exception of the kiss, which he affirmed to have been consensual.
Harold LeBel was elected for the first time in 2014, after three unsuccessful attempts. Re-elected in 2018, he was expelled from the Parti Québécois caucus following his arrest and decided not to stand again in the last election because of this trial.