A man who posed as an Uber driver to drive a drunk young woman to the island of Sainte-Hélène and sexually assault her in August 2017 has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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One summer Thursday evening, Valérie (fictional name due to a publication ban) was on her way home after a drunken evening at a bar in Old Montreal when a white minivan approached her.
The driver, Nissim Vaknin, rolled down his window and asked her if she had ordered an Uber. The 27-year-old, whose identity is being protected by the court, answered “yes” because she always called when she got home late.
However, instead of taking her home, he drove 40 minutes to the island of Sainte-Hélène.
During the trip, Vaknin gave Valérie a sum of $300 and told her “that he wanted to spend time with her because she was great,” according to the recent verdict at the Montreal courthouse.
At that moment, “she understood that she was not in an Uber and that she was in danger,” the victim testified in court.
Terrified, Valérie secretly sent 28 text messages to her boyfriend and called her father in 27 minutes. No response as both were asleep at the time.
During the ride, Vaknin “touched her face, her neck, her arms and caressed her breasts with his hand,” the ruling says.
In a forest area
He then parked in a wooded area on the island of Sainte-Hélène and sexually abused Valérie.
The victim said she froze at that moment. “She was like a sex doll and just wanted it to stop,” it says.
After about ten minutes, she finally managed to ask her attacker to leave. Vaknin therefore drove her back to Montreal and left her in the Saint-Henri district, just a few kilometers from her home.
The defendant was found thanks to the DNA found on the victim after the attack.
No confession
Nissim Vaknin, 62, was found guilty of sexual assault following a trial in 2021.
However, “he maintains his innocence and the fact that he touched her with her permission. “When the incident occurred, he did not notice his fear,” the verdict says.
In addition to an 18-month prison sentence, Nissim Vaknin was given a two-year suspended sentence.
The Crown, represented by Me Olivier Charbonneau, asked for three years in prison. For his part, the defendant’s lawyer, Me Mathieu Bourgon, hoped for a prison sentence of 90 days with weekends and community service.
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