(Gatineau) A civil court judge in Quebec has acquitted Major General Dany Fortin of sexual assault in an allegation dating back to 1988.
Judge Richard Meredith, of the Court of Quebec, in Gatineau, explained Monday that he was convinced that the complainant had indeed been sexually assaulted that evening. But he felt that the Crown had not established beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the accused Fortin who had committed the crime.
Major General Fortin was the officer responsible for delivering COVID-19 vaccines to the provinces until May 2021, when the allegation came to light and he was removed from his post by Ottawa. Shortly after the verdict, he claimed to be the victim of political interference and he told reporters that he wanted the military to reinstate him in an equivalent post.
The charge of sexual assault stemmed from her time at the Military College of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, which the complainant was also attending at the same time.
The complainant had stated at trial that she was absolutely certain that her assailant that night was indeed Mr. Fortin. She maintained that she had waited until 2021, after her retirement, to report the attack, for fear of repercussions on her career.
Inconsistencies
Fortin’s lawyer cited at trial inconsistencies between the complainant’s testimony and her prior statements to investigators last year, including on the details of the alleged assault.
The defense notably insisted on the fact that the complainant had said that she confided in her ex-boyfriend immediately after the alleged assault, while this man testified at trial that he had no remember such a conversation.
Judge Meredith recalled those inconsistencies on Monday, as well as conflicting testimony regarding the location of streetlights in an adjacent parking lot and the presence of shutters on the dormitory window.
The judge pointed out that the lighting in the dormitory room did not allow her to see well and that the complainant must have been in shock during the assault.
The judge clarified that he was satisfied that the complainant had been sexually assaulted – that she had been generally candid about it at trial. He also found perfectly reasonable and credible the reasons that explain why this woman had lived for so many years in silence, and what had finally led her to file a complaint.
The judge indicated that the court had sympathy for the plaintiff, given the suffering she suffered, but explained that the court’s verdict could not be based on sympathy.
Crown prosecutor Diane Legault, disappointed with the verdict, was unsure Monday that the prosecution would appeal the verdict.
Mr. Fortin, meanwhile, told reporters that victims of sexual assault should be supported and believed, but he reiterated, as he did at trial, that he did not believe he ever entered into the complainant’s room in the dormitory.