Two men have been accused of revealing on social networks the identity of the victim of former Parti Québécois (PQ) MP Harold Lebel, despite a judge’s order clearly prohibiting it.
We now know that it is Catherine Fournier, the current mayor of Longueuil, because she asked last April — after the end of Harold Lebel’s trial for sexual assault — that the order be lifted for be able to express yourself on this subject.
But before that, it was forbidden for anyone to reveal their identity: from the start of the criminal trial, judge Serge Francoeur had decreed it. Protection of the identity of victims of sexual assault, provided for in the Criminal Code, is the norm.
Additionally, the judge’s order was “clear,” said the Crown prosecutor in the case, Mr.e Alex Turcotte.
Two citizens, Sylvain Fortin and Stéphane Vigeant, were charged with one count of “violation of ordinance” Tuesday morning at the Rimouski courthouse. Represented by their respective lawyers, they pleaded not guilty.
One of them is accused of having outright revealed the name of Mme Fournier on the social network X (formerly Twitter) and the other gave details making it easy to know who it was, explained Me Turcotte on the phone.
It was the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) which investigated this matter. The police force submitted two files to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), who authorized the filing of charges in both cases.
The evidence was handed over to the defendants’ lawyers, confirmed Me Turcotte. The case returns to court in January.
Remember that after being found guilty of one count of sexual assault in November 2022, Harold Lebel was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Catherine Fournier had strongly denounced that her name had been revealed against her will. “This guarantee of anonymity” was what allowed her to go ahead and file a police report against the attacker, she wrote in an open letter published in April. She said she still had a “heartache” when she thought about that moment.