Simon Houle, the engineer who received a conditional discharge on June 21 after sexually assaulting a woman, could find himself in hot water as a woman accuses him of having repeated non-consensual sexual touching in a bar in Cayo Coco, Cuba.
The information was first published by Radio-Canada on Monday morning. Vickie Vachon, a 40-year-old teacher who lives in the Laurentians, said the 30-year-old man “grabbed her buttocks in a very, very intense, very aggressive way, a very big handful of buttocks” in the night of July 3-4, as they walked. One person was said to have witnessed the events.
The woman filed a complaint with the Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes but it is unlikely that this will lead to charges as the facts occurred outside the country, underlines the To have to criminal lawyer Me Charles B. Côté.
But the latter brings a downside: although the facts occurred abroad, it could be shown that Simon Houle broke the condition of good conduct of his absolution, he says. “There’s no territory that applies to that,” he says.
In his judgment, Judge Matthieu Poliquin granted a conditional discharge with a probation for a period of three years accompanied by conditions, in particular “not to disturb public order and to have good conduct”.
The presence of witnesses could help to make this demonstration. “Once the police department’s investigation is complete, it will be forwarded to the DPCP [Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales]who could then bring Simon Houle back before Judge Poliquin to have the discharge revoked, which would result in a sentence,” said Me Côté.
Simon Houle had pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and voyeurism. Judge Poliquin noted that he had recognized his wrongs from the outset, started therapy and that he has a “strong potential for social reintegration” and a low risk of recidivism. Without being perfect, he is a person “of good character”, wrote the judge, who believes that a “conviction would have particularly negative and disproportionate consequences for him, when he could hardly travel outside the country , which could possibly hamper his career as an engineer.
The DPCP appealed against this decision. In an email sent to To have to in light of the new information that is circulating, a spokesperson points out that, “without commenting on Mr. Houle’s case, there are precedents in Canadian law recognizing the sanction of a breach of a probation order foreign. »
“We bring to your attention Section 730(4) of the Criminal Code, which allows for the setting aside of a discharge where a person subject to the terms of a probation order is convicted of an offence, including breach of a probation order”, writes Me Patricia Johnson.
“Apart from our intention to file a request for permission to appeal the decision rendered in this case, the DPCP does not have any public information at this time. The motion will be filed no later than July 21 at the registry of the Quebec Court of Appeal,” she said.
Otherwise, the decision to initiate criminal proceedings when the alleged crime was allegedly committed abroad “is based on a legal analysis, which must be carried out in light of all the circumstances,” she underlines.