Two former Victoriaville Tigers hockey players pleaded guilty on Wednesday to having sexually assaulted a teenage girl in June 2021. The trial which was to begin this week at the Quebec courthouse will therefore not take place.
Massimo Siciliano and Nicolas Daigle, both 21 years old, are former players of this Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.
They were accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, then an employee at a hotel where the team was staying during the 2021 playoffs. The crime occurred on June 6, 2021, when the team was celebrating at the hotel its conquest of the President’s Cup.
Mr. Daigle also pleaded guilty to two other charges, for producing and circulating a video of the victim. A fourth count initially filed was withdrawn by the Crown, confirmed its lawyer, Me Michel Lebrun.
The complainant is “relieved,” Crown prosecutor M said on Wednesday.e Michel Bérubé leaving the courtroom. But the response to the accusation was still recorded “at the last minute”, he added: the plaintiff therefore had to live with the apprehension of the trial and criminal proceedings throughout this period.
The prosecutor wanted to emphasize the resilience of the young woman. “Through her courage, the complainant can inspire victims to denounce, regardless of the status of the aggressor, whether it is a well-known hockey player” or someone else, he declared from the palace of justice.
The case will return before Judge Thomas Jacques, of the Court of Quebec, on October 20 so that he can set a date for observations on the sentence.
With The Canadian Press