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 an alleged victim who was a minor at the time of the 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 SQ. The sergeant today faces charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault against an alleged victim who was 12 when the alleged crimes allegedly took place.
The Criminal Code provides for a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment for the offenses with which the accused is charged.
The acts alleged against Sergeant Doiron date back to 1988, when the latter was 25 years old. According to the indictment, he committed the alleged crimes between 1er May and September 30 of this year in Cloridorme, a municipality located one hour northwest of Gaspé.
Thirty-five years later, justice issued, on June 14, an arrest warrant against the sergeant. Claude Doiron appeared Monday morning at the Percé courthouse, represented by lawyer Jean-François Boucher. The prosecutor in this case is Louis-Philippe Desjardins, who has worked in the criminal and penal prosecutions department 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, the coordinator of the service of dissemination and media relations within the police force. He was not employed by the Sûreté at the time. »
Claude Doiron was to retire this week and conclude his career at the Sûreté du Québec this Wednesday, June 28.