Two men are accused of disclosing the identity of Harold Lebel’s victim, Catherine Fournier, during the trial for sexual assault of the former deputy of Rimouski, one year ago. This is the first time in the country that charges have been brought for breaking a publication ban, which Mr.me Fournier.
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The two men will appear this Monday, November 20 at the Rimouski courthouse. The Crown accuses them of having shared the name of the complainant, or any detail allowing her to be identified, on the social network X (formerly Twitter) during the trial in November 2022.
However, a publication ban protected the identity of the current mayor of Longueuil. It was therefore forbidden to publish or disseminate any information that would enable his identity to be established.
“Catherine Fournier was afraid to file a complaint but she was not afraid to lie in bed with Harold Lebel,” commented for example one of the two accused, aged 62, on the social network X, on November 9 2022.
“Everyone knows that she is a former MP and now mayor on the south shore of Montreal…” wrote the second accused, a 43-year-old man, who published at the time on X with an anonymous profile , Satan Poitras.
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If the identity of the complainant is known today, it is because Catherine Fournier decided, after the trial, to have the publication ban lifted. She wanted to do useful work by sharing her story.
This lifting also coincided with the release of the documentary Witness CF, produced by the Quebecor investigation office and available on the Vrai platform.
“It sends a good message to the victims”
This is the first time in Canada that section 486.6 of the Criminal Code for breach of a publication ban order has been invoked in the case of a criminal prosecution. So this is the first time that people have been accused for this reason.
The two accused face a maximum fine of $5,000 and a maximum imprisonment of two years less a day.
“It’s certain that it sends a good message to the victims,” reacted Catherine Fournier in an interview with 24 hours. My story unfortunately highlighted the fact that orders were not always respected, and that this can have significant consequences. I wanted to testify about it, but it is certain that it could have unfairly shaken the confidence of certain victims.
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The mayor of Longueuil notes a “collective awareness” regarding the importance of respecting these orders to protect victims and encourage them to file complaints.
The authorities also realized the importance of enforcing the law, believes the elected official. She hopes that the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) will henceforth take care to communicate publication ban orders from the moment there is an arrest or indictment.
Mea culpa from the DPCP?
Remember that on the day of Harold LeBel’s arrest, December 15, 2020, the publication ban supposed to protect the identity of Catherine Fournier had already not been respected. Columnist Stéphane Bédard revealed Ms. Fournier’s name on television.
• Read also: Catherine Fournier denounces the comments of two radio hosts who trivialized her attack
Despite the intervention of the DPCP at the end of the day, the damage was done. The entire political and media class now knew his identity.
“I felt betrayed by everyone,” said Ms. Fournier in the documentary. Witness CF.
How does a publication order work?
- If you are the victim of a crime, you have the right to request that a publication ban protect your identity. Issued by a judge, it applies during all legal proceedings, but also after the accused person has pleaded guilty or after the end of their trial if they plead not guilty.
- The order prohibits any person, including those who request it, from broadcasting and publishing the name of the victim and any information allowing them to be identified (physical description, employment, address, hobbies practiced, etc.) .
- It applies to the media, witnesses, the accused person, his or her lawyer and the general population.
- The order prohibits the publication and dissemination of information that could identify the victim, regardless of the means of communication where this information is mentioned (social networks, news sites or applications, newspapers, magazines, television or radio shows, books, posters, bulletin boards, etc.).
- For a publication ban to be ordered in a file, you must ask the judge directly or express this wish to the Crown prosecutor who will make the request to the judge on your behalf.
- The judge must impose a publication ban in the case of a trial for sexual violence or if the victim is under 18 years old. It will be imposed automatically if the crime was committed by a teenager aged 12 to 17 or if the victim is the subject of a document (photo, video, written, etc.). ) which constitutes child pornography.
- If a person does not comply with the order, they are breaking the law and can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 2 years less a day.