Judge Matthieu Poliquin based himself on myths and stereotypes to absolve Simon Houle, who admitted to having sexually assaulted a friend, supports the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), believing that this decision contributed to “disempowering” the accused.
” The judge [Poliquin] erred in principle by exercising his discretion in an unreasonable manner, by placing undue emphasis on the rehabilitation and profile of the respondent and by failing to give sufficient weight to the subjective seriousness of the offences”, perhaps we read in the DPCP’s appeal request, filed on Friday.
Simon Houle, an engineer from Trois-Rivières, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and voyeurism. According to the evidence reported in Judge Poliquin’s decision, the victim fell asleep in a bedroom after a party with friends in 2019. She woke up as Simon Houle moved his fingers back and forth with his fingers in his private parts. He had untied her bra to expose her breasts and took photos of her, which were later recovered by officers.
In his description of the facts, the judge underlined that the gestures concerned only one victim, during a single event, “which takes place after all quickly”. ” [Ce] comment […] suggests that the judge prioritizes the subjective seriousness of the crime and its impact on the victim according to the duration of the event,” argues Ms.e Ève-Lyne Goulet, prosecutor for the DPCP.
The public prosecutor also criticizes the judge for having considered the state of intoxication of the accused, “despite the fact that it constitutes neither a defense nor a justification”. This comment tends rather “to excuse or disempower [l’accusé] “Writes the DPCP.
The absolution granted to Simon Houle is “a manifestly unreasonable sentence”, still according to the DPCP, which claims for its part 15 to 18 months in prison.
Recall that Judge Poliquin noted that Simon Houle had immediately recognized his wrongdoings and had started therapy, that he had “strong potential for social reintegration” and that ” [son] risk of recurrence [était] weak “. He mentioned that Simon Houle was a person “of good character” and that a conviction would have “particularly negative and disproportionate consequences” on his career as an engineer.
Since this decision, a woman has recounted having been sexually touched by Simon Houle in Cayo Coco, Cuba. It was while returning to Quebec that Vickie Vachon, a 40-year-old teacher, learned that her alleged attacker had just received a conditional discharge in a sexual assault case. She filed a complaint with the Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Department upon her return to the country on July 7.
Complaint reviewed
Moreover, the Judicial Council has indeed begun to examine a complaint against Judge Matthieu Poliquin.
The revocation of the appointment of the judge is claimed in a petition, which had collected 4600 signatures at the time these lines were written. In a missive addressed to the authors of this petition, the Conseil de la magistrature acknowledges receipt of the complaint and confirms that “in accordance with the applicable procedure, the members of the Conseil will examine it at a future meeting”.
The note adds that, initially, the members of the Council “will examine whether the alleged facts are likely, or not, to constitute a breach of the Code of ethics of the judiciary and, if necessary, whether there is reason to investigate the complaint”.
With The Canadian Press