André Boisclair pleads guilty to two charges of sexual assault

Both the defense and the Crown suggested on Monday that Mr. Boisclair be sent to prison for two years less a day after he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault with the help of a third towards a first victim and another of sexual assault towards a second victim.

The charge of sexual assault with a weapon in the first case was dropped.

In our case, the prosecution is of the view that only a prison sentence sent the appropriate message of denunciation and deterrence. These are offenses that are serious, important and must be punished commensurate with their seriousness.declared the Crown prosecutor, Me Jérôme Laflamme, at the end of the hearing.

Judge Pierre Labelle, of the Court of Quebec, however, did not render a decision on the bench, but rather took it under advisement. It is therefore on July 18 that the ex-politician will know the fate that justice has in store for him.

The two victims, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, gave moving testimonies on Monday at the courthouse, following Mr. Boisclair’s admission of guilt.

Loss of political ambitions

The person I was before 2014 is gonesaid the first victim. Since 2014, when I walked through Mr. Boisclair’s door, nothing has gone right.

The young man said he had lost his ambitions and his convictions. The events caused him anxiety, depression and damaged his self-esteem, to the point where he was inhabited by suicidal thoughts. He had to follow therapies and remains seized by moments of panic and inhabited by nightmares.

” My goals of one day getting into politics turned into an aversion to it. […] I have a bad life that just won’t go away. “

This first victim came to André Boisclair on January 8, 2014 after a few exchanges on social media and by telephone. Other people were there and there were narcotics that André Boisclair consumed, testifying to having seen the victim. Some sexual gestures were then made.

Although he mentioned that he did not want anal sex before going to the accused’s house, at one point André Boisclair asked two other people to grab and penetrate him, despite a second refusal affirmed on the spot. The assault was dropped because the victim was struggling and the young man was able to walk away afterwards.

It was after the media coverage of this first assault that the second victim filed a complaint and told the police about the events she had experienced on November 22, 2015.

Marked for life

November 22 was born a deep wound, said the second victim before the judge. The man said he was in his early twenties and just beginning to assert his sexuality and flourish.

To this day, my wound is still not healedhe continued, recounting having experienced shame, misunderstanding and a loss of confidence which all affected his intimate life thereafter.

This memory will not fade. The body remembers. I am scarred for life. […] This person who abused me was someone I respected and who impressed mehe said, implying that André Boisclair had clearly abused his status.

The former PQ leader and ex-minister and the young man had got in touch through a dating application and had made an appointment with André Boisclair for November 22.

After a discussion of about an hour over a beer, the young man wanted to leave, but that’s when the accused untied him and lowered his pants to indulge in fellatio that the young man did not. did not want.

He had pulled up his pants, but André Boisclair had then dragged him to the bed, laid him on his stomach and lowered his pants again. This time, the young man clearly asked him to stop, but André Boisclair instead began to engage in anal touching.

This time, the victim very firmly ordered him to stop, which André Boisclair did and the victim left the accused’s home.

Impaired judgment

André Boisclair’s lawyer, Me Michel Massicotte, argued that his client’s judgment was significantly altered during the events, he who was taking medication and consuming narcotics.

In his defence, he maintained that the admission of guilt registered by André Boisclair was a mitigating factor in support of the sentence of two years less a day in prison.

He argued that his client underwent multiple therapies after being charged and underwent around 40 random drug tests. All tested negative.

It is often said that everyone is equal before the law. Forty-five years of practice have enabled me to see that this is not always the case. My client’s notoriety has meant that public opprobrium has consequences on him that less publicized cases do not necessarily have.but that, despite everything, he accepted this situation and did not contest the imposition of a sentence similar to that imposed on other attackers for similar crimes.

The common suggestion of the parties is for a sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment for the sexual assault committed with the help of third parties on the first victim and six months less a day for the sexual assault against the second.