Claude Doiron, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) for the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine regions since 2012, must answer three charges of a sexual nature against a minor victim during the alleged events.
The accused is a known face in eastern Quebec, where he regularly appears in the public eye to comment on court cases conducted by the provincial police. The sergeant today faces charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault on a person who was 12 years old when the crimes allegedly took place.
The Criminal Code provides for a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison for such acts.
The crimes alleged against Sergeant Doiron took place in 1988, when the latter was 25 years old. According to the indictment, he allegedly committed these actions between 1er May and September 30 of that year in Cloridorme, a municipality located an hour’s drive northwest of Gaspé.
Photo: Francis Vachon Le Devoir
Sergeant Claude Doiron speaking to the media in Amqui on March 14
Thirty-five years later, on June 14, the court issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Doiron. The sergeant appeared Monday morning at the Percé courthouse; he is represented by lawyer Jean-François Boucher. The prosecutor in this case is Louis-Philippe Desjardins, who has worked at the Criminal and Penal Prosecutions Branch for five years.
The SQ relieved the accused of his duties as soon as he was arrested on June 15. “The facts alleged against Mr. Doiron go back some thirty years,” said Ann Mathieu, coordinator of the service of dissemination and media relations within the provincial police. “He was not employed by the Sûreté at the time. »
Claude Doiron was to retire and conclude his career with the SQ this Wednesday, June 28.
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