The soldier from the Bagotville base accused of sexual assault will testify during his court-martial trial, his lawyer assured on the second day of hearings held directly at the base area.
Master Corporal Claude Houde, a member of 3 Maintenance Squadron, faces three charges, including one for sexual assault causing bodily harm, and two sexual assault for alleged incidents’ y occurred between December 2015 and March 2017, at or near the Bagotville military base.
Claude Houde pleaded not guilty to these three counts on Monday at the opening of the hearings. His lawyer is Mr.at Jean-Marc Tremblay.
The prosecution, represented by Major Élisabeth Baby-Cormier, revealed in its opening statement that the accused allegedly used high heels to commit one of his attacks.
Judged by his peers
The trial will be held in front of a military judge and in front of a committee made up of five members of the Canadian Armed Forces from across the country. This committee performs functions similar to those of a jury in civil courts.
For this test, four males and one female were selected. The judge gave his instructions to the committee about the procedures on Tuesday.
The prosecution will release its evidence on Wednesday. The victim in this case, who could not be identified due to the publication ban, will also testify on the third day of the trial.
The decision to conduct the trial by court martial rather than before the criminal and penal division of the Court of Quebec was made due to the date of filing of the cases. The cases were filed in July 2021, before the defense minister’s decision to transfer military sexual misconduct cases to civilian courts.
There is information from Gabrielle Morissette
Source: Radio-Canada
