Warning: This story contains disturbing details of sexual assault. At the end of the article is a list of resources for people who have suffered sexual violence.
A heartbreak of outrage from victims’ rights groups, politicians and other Quebecers has risen this week, following a decision by a Quebec court judge to grant a conditional dismissal to a man who pleaded guilty to assault sexual and voyeurism.
Judge Matthieu Poliquin issued the sentence last month, after Simon Houle, an engineer from Trois-Rivières, admitted to sexually assaulting a woman in 2019 and, according to the sentence, taking photographs of her “private parts” while sleeping. .
In his ruling, Poliquin said the criminal record “would have a significant impact” on Houle’s career, leading many advocates of sexual assault survivors to say the sentence minimizes the severity of the assault. sexual and could help make victims reluctant to show up. their own complaints.
A parole means Houle will have no criminal record if he meets a number of conditions for a period of parole, in this case three months.
Some legal experts now question the weight of certain factors, such as a person’s professional status, in influencing a sentence and whether a conditional dismissal can ever be the right call in a case of sexual assault.
A message too lenient?
In his ruling, the judge described how the victim, asleep at a party, was “awakened by the light of a camera. She felt a few fingers in her vagina moving back and forth.” Her shirt lifted and the bra came off the front.
A few days later, a friend of the assailant who was aware of the event looked at Houle’s phone. “He then found, in the trash of the device, photos of a woman’s private parts,” the judge said.
Rachel Chagnon, a professor in the Department of Legal Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), says the role of a judge is to determine the most appropriate sentence for the individual case before her, given the aggravation and mitigation. factors.
“If the defendant planned the crime, that’s aggravating. If the defendant regrets his actions, that’s a mitigating factor,” he said.
UQAM law professor Rachel Chagnon wonders if Judge Mathieu Poliquin put too much emphasis on Houle’s personal life in reaching his sentencing decision. (Radio-Canada)
He said that in this case, the judge concluded that there were more mitigating factors than aggravating factors, so he opted for a lighter sentence. However, Chagnon questions the message he sends to the public on parole for sexual assault.
In the ruling, “the appearance of justice is as important as justice itself to ensure citizens’ trust in the system,” he said.
“In a world where we recognize that historically we haven’t been severe enough, that we haven’t sent a clear enough message about the seriousness of sexual assault, a phrase that at first glance seems relatively lenient sends the message we want to? Send?” Chagnon asked, in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Midi info.
It is not a popular decision, but it is a fair one: a criminal lawyer
In his ruling, the judge said Houle “deeply regrets his actions” and that the repercussions of his criminal record “would have especially negative and disproportionate consequences for him,” in part because it would make it difficult for him to travel for his job as an engineer. .
Poliquin noted that Houle also sought therapy and admitted that he sexually assaulted another woman in 2015. This admission, while “disturbing,” according to Poliquin, also demonstrated his “desire for transparency” and serious approach. of Houle for rehabilitation.
Simon Houle, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and voyeurism, received a conditional dismissal after a judge ruled that a criminal record would have disproportionate consequences in his career as an engineer. (Simon Houle / Facebook)
In reaching his decision, Chagnon said the judge gave considerable weight to the specific reality of the aggressor.
“This raises the question of whether we are leaving too much room for subjectivity in terms of the sympathy that can be had for the aggressor, if we do not place too much emphasis on these elements.”
However, Eric Sutton, a criminal defense attorney in Montreal, said the elements of Houle’s personal life are relevant considerations that cannot be ignored.
“I think as a community we will value someone who pleads guilty, shows remorse … has done therapy, is well educated [and] he wants to pursue a career as a professional, ”Sutton said.
Defense attorney Eric Sutton, seen here, said it is not the responsibility of a judge to teach or reassure the public, but to make the right decision based on the facts presented in the case. (Jaela Bernstien / CBC)
While most people would agree that sexual assault is a very serious crime, according to Sutton, “that doesn’t mean anyone can get discharged.” He noted that these decisions are increasingly uncommon in cases of sexual assault under Canadian law.
Sutton said that while, in general, someone guilty of sexual assault would end up with a conviction, in his view, the dismissal was justified in this particular case.
“[The judge] explains their reasoning process; it applies the right principles, and I think it’s a very strong decision. It may not be popular, but I think it’s really fair. ”
Ways of appeal
Unlike Chagnon, Sutton does not believe it is the responsibility of a judge to teach or reassure the public. He said it is the responsibility of the judge to make the right decision based on the facts before him.
The office of the director of criminal and criminal prosecution in Quebec (DPCP) has said it will appeal Houle’s sentence in the coming weeks.
Sutton says he agrees with critics who say Houle’s admission of having sexually assaulted another woman four years earlier should have been “a concern” for the judge in this case, but he doesn’t know if this will only be enough for a higher court to do so. annul Poliquin’s decision, leading to a conviction.
The length of the assault, which Poliquin said happened “as a whole, quickly,” could also be something a judge who will hear the appeal would consider unworthy, Sutton said.
Cassandra Richards, a criminal lawyer and researcher on sexual violence at McGill University, said the outcry over Houle’s case highlights society’s confrontation over how best to hold people accountable for crimes of sexual violence.
“On the one hand, we have a movement that wants crimes of sexual violence to be taken seriously because they haven’t been taken seriously for too long. And on the other hand, we have a movement that promotes an alternative. In prisons , which recognizes that prisons don’t always keep our communities safer, ”he said.
“I think the question is, can a conditional discharge take into account the severity of the sexual assault? And I think for some people it can, [for] some people can’t “.
Resources and supports are available for anyone who has experienced sexual violence: