A world-renowned researcher would have put a woman through hell when he had just been appointed professor at UQAM. Strangled with both hands, bitten severely, punched: the woman described how violent Brad Aeon was during their sexual relations, and even sometimes in the street.
Brad Aeon’s trial opened Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse. The 35-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting Violette* on several occasions and injuring her by hitting her in 2021 and 2022. A court order protects the identity of the complainant.
A specialist in time management and well-being, Brad Aeon was a professor at UQAM at the time of the events. His career was on the rise. He was also cited by the biggest publications in the world. He has no longer been employed by UQAM since his indictment in August 2022.
“When I met him, he was a professor at UQAM. I did all my studies at UQAM, it was really a safe space for me. It really gave me confidence in him,” explains Violette at the stand.
Their first sexual encounter sets the tone for the degree of violence alleged by the complainant. That evening, she was “very intoxicated” by alcohol. During the evening, she said, Brad Aeon kept refilling his glass with rum. Although her memories are fragmentary, she remembers one incident “so violent” very well.
“He took a big swing and slapped me extremely hard. I stopped the second blow with my arm,” says Violette. The next day, the woman had pain in her genitals. She notices that she has bruises on her arms.
Their second evening is also marked by violence. “ Out of the blue, it jumped down my throat. He strangled me with both hands. I was quickly dizzy,” she said, miming the gesture in court. When Violette wants to leave the apartment, Brad Aeon prevents her from leaving by standing in front of the door, she continues.
Violette said she was “open” to BDSM (an acronym meaning bondage, domination, submission, sadomasochism), but maintains that she did not consent to numerous violent gestures.
“I was so fucking clear. I was so into negotiation, compromise, I don’t want that, I don’t like that, I like that, I always tried to set my limits and be clear. I really had this image that BDSM, it’s clear, if you set your limits, they are respected,” she explains.
Brad Aeon would sometimes bite his arm “extremely hard,” to the point of leaving purple bruises. Once, when he went to get his new professor’s card at UQAM, he bit Violette’s cheek in the middle of the street, without announcing it, she relates. On the other hand, he sometimes told her he intended to sleep with female students, she said.
Once, during sex, Brad Aeon began punching Violette’s buttocks. “I had bad bruises and had trouble sitting down. It made fucking badly,” she testifies. On another occasion, he slapped her so hard that she was dizzy during sex.
” I was terrified “
Violette then begins to wonder about Brad Aeon. “I had the impression that there was an escalation. I was starting to fear that he was a sadist, a real one… and that BDSM was not fun for him,” she summarizes.
When they come out of watching the horror film Candyman at the cinema, Brad Aeon told him that he could have “come” there while watching a woman having her throat slit, Violette says. He also tells her he has dreams where he cuts women into pieces, she adds.
An episode of public violence was particularly impactful for Violette. That evening, the woman had a drink with a friend. Brad Aeon invites himself to the bar. When Violette refuses to leave with him, he explodes: he bites the woman’s arm “extremely hard”. “I screamed,” she blurted.
In the middle of rue Saint-Denis, Brad Aeon pretends to attack her with his bicycle helmet, she continues. “He pretended to punch me in the head. I was afraid of him. I froze from head to toe,” she says.
” I was terrified. It was a completely gratuitous attack,” Violette continues.
The bite left him bruised for weeks. Later, she explains that Brad Aeon told her that the “blue” from the wound was the “color of love”.
His testimony continues Tuesday afternoon before Judge Marie Kettlyne Ruben.
Me Lauren Dahan represents the Crown, while Me Adam Ginzburg defends the accused.
* Fictitious name to protect identity