Former PQ Rep. Harold LeBel will return to the Rimouski courthouse Thursday to possibly receive his verdict as the two parties set to present a joint proposal for Judge Serge Francoeur.
• Also read: Harold LeBel will not be appealing his verdict
• Also read: Harold LeBel set his fate on January 26th
• Also read: Harold LeBel Trial: The jury wants to hear an excerpt of the victim’s testimony
Harold LeBel, who was found guilty by a jury last November, faces a prison sentence on sexual assault charges.
His attorney, Me Maxime Roy, and criminal and criminal prosecutor, Me Manon Gaudreault, announced their colors ahead of the holidays by confirming a joint proposal would be presented to the judge.
If he agrees to the proposal, he could impose the penalty imposed on LeBel immediately. If he had to consult the case, a date of March 20 was already set to close the file.
“Hell Night”
The trial, which lasted a little over two weeks in November, was played with the credibility the jury gave to the victim and LeBel, who were the only two witnesses called before the bar.
The plaintiff told the jury what she called a “hell night.”
LeBel, whom she considered a friend, hosted her at his apartment while she was in Rimouski on business. A third person, a friend of the two involved, was also present but was asleep in a room at the time.
After a discussion in the kitchen, where Harold LeBel kissed her, and an approach in a hallway where he opened her bra, the young woman took refuge in the bathroom and said the deputy spent a long moment outside the door.
Lying in a Murphy bed in the living room, she was joined by Harold LeBel, who asked to sleep with her, to which she agreed to “buy peace”. At that moment, the chosen one began to touch her, caressing her before inserting a finger into her anus.
“It was absolutely endless. […] I told myself he was going to stop, that he was going to fall asleep, but it kept going,” she testified before the jury.
no call
Harold LeBel has always denied the assault, admitting that he and the victim kissed and slept in the same bed, but no more.
“I never did that,” he said during the trial.
SCREENSHOT, VAT NEWS
However, email exchanges in which the MP wrote to the woman that he apologized for all of this visibly cast doubt in the minds of the jury, who found him guilty.
Shortly before Christmas, Harold LeBel announced that he would not appeal the decision. His lawyer had pointed out that “Judge Serge Francoeur conducted this process impeccably despite deep disappointment”.
More details to come.