Gilbert Rozon upon his arrival at the Montreal court, November 6, 2020. -
Paul Chiasson / AP / SIPA
It is a verdict which tries to go as well in the direction of the accused as the complainant, but without satisfying the latter.
Former Quebec humor mogul Gilbert Rozon, ex-juror of the show
La France a un incredible talent
, was acquitted Tuesday in Montreal of charges of rape and indecent assault for which he risked jail closed.
However, Judge Mélanie Hébert insisted that "this verdict of acquittal does not mean that the alleged incidents did not occur".
She even found that the story of the alleged victim was rather "more plausible" than that of the accused.
In a long judgment with nuances, the judge considered that the trial, which opposed two contradictory versions of facts dating back 40 years, had not made it possible to conclude that Gilbert Rozon was guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt".
A criterion required to condemn him.
"A dark day", according to the complainant
The complainant immediately expressed an "incredible sense of helplessness" after this verdict.
At the same time, Gilbert Rozon, 66, left the courthouse without commenting.
“This Tuesday, December 15 will remain a dark day for all victims of sexual assault in Quebec,” commented Annick Charette, 60 years old.
She decided to make public her identity until then protected by justice.
"I think I am another example of the limits of the justice system when it comes to sexual violence," she added to the media.
At the end of his trial on November 6, the representative of the public prosecutor had called for the conviction of Gilbert Rozon, judging that the version of the facts that he delivered during the hearings "defied (d) logic", even bordered on the '' Absurd '.
Logically, prosecutor Bruno Ménard said Tuesday that he would study a possible appeal of the verdict.
On the contrary, the producer's defense considered that his client should be acquitted with the benefit of the doubt, because of the “inconsistencies” and “lapses of memory” of the complainant in her account of the facts, which occurred in 1980 when she did not was only 20 years old.
The Courageous Call
The founder of the group "Just for Laughs" had been splashed by accusations of sexual assault in October 2017, which forced him to leave his position in full movement #MeToo.
His defense had accused the complainant of having wanted to "make pay" Gilbert Rozon in the wake of this movement.
Only the complaint of Annick Charette had finally been accepted by justice.
Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal from a women's group called Les Courageuses, who wanted to take class action against the producer.
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