Osteopath accused of sexual assault | The DPCP appeals the acquittal pronounced by judge Joëlle Roy

The controversial acquittal pronounced by Judge Joëlle Roy in a sexual assault case was appealed by the Crown. The judge criticized the complainant for keeping her eyes closed. A “preconceived idea”, according to the public prosecutor.

This acquittal verdict caused a cascade of events last month. In a text published in The Presscolumnist Yves Boisvert criticized the judge for perpetuating the myth of the “good victim” and questioned her competence given the numerous judgments of the Court of Appeal overturning her decisions.

Judge Joëlle Roy reacted very strongly to this column. The morning of the publication, the magistrate took the bench, in tears, in a trial for incest. She called the column “a personal attack […] very vicious.” The next day, still in the courtroom, Judge Roy read a letter to Yves Boisvert, saying she was a victim of “violence” as a “woman”.

Since this unusual declaration, the judge of the Court of Quebec has been absent from the Montreal courthouse.

The judgment at the origin of this case targeted Sufyan Haji Bik, a 60-year-old Montreal therapist. He was accused of having sexually assaulted a patient in the spring of 2021. During treatment, the woman said she felt an object on her breasts – a sort of “cone” – but was not able to feel it. see, since she kept her eyes closed.

Then, the complainant claimed that the osteopath quickly touched her vulva and pelvic region. She then allegedly told the man to stop by grabbing his wrist.

“If she says she is able to take the accused’s wrists so that he stops massaging her in the pelvic area and to tell him that she is there for his back, she can also open her eyes during the episode “cones”, which it does not do,” concludes Judge Roy.

Furthermore, according to the judge, even if these gestures were true, they would not constitute an act with sexual connotations, according to Judge Roy. “Using the oil could cause the hand to slip and the action is very quick,” she said.

In the notice of appeal filed last week with the Court of Appeal, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) retains three grounds of appeal. First, the DPCP maintains that Judge Roy analyzed the evidence in light of a “preconceived idea of ​​the expected behavior of the parties”.

Also, the DPCP criticizes the judge for having believed the accused’s general denial without examining his testimony in light of the evidence. In addition, the judge erred in concluding that certain gestures, such as that of digital penetration, did not constitute sexual assault, maintains the DPCP.

The public prosecutor therefore requests to annul the acquittal verdict and order a new trial.