A man convicted of sexually assaulting a minor has been declared incompetent to receive his sentence due to dementia that developed during the trial, a decision that closes a loophole in the law.
The Criminal Code contains provisions for cases in which a defendant is unfit to stand trial, but does not provide for a procedure in the event that the defendant no longer becomes fit to stand trial after his or her guilt has been established but before sentencing.
The André Côté case now fills this gap to the satisfaction of his lawyer Me Félix-Antoine T. Doyon, for whom the case was of great importance.
Félix-Antoine T. Doyon, defense attorney with kind permission
“On a human level, I was convinced there was a problem,” he explains. The Court of Appeal also found that there was a civil liberties issue.”
“Severe mental disorder”
The problem in question was the rapid deterioration of André Côté's mental state between the announcement of his guilty verdict and the sentencing, which was caused by dementia.
Despite the doubts expressed by Me Doyon at the time of the verdict, at the end of a second trial for sexual assault of a minor, judge Hélène Bouillon imposed a five-year prison sentence on the defendant.
Photo agency QMI, Marcel Tremblay
The Court of Appeal ultimately overturned this ruling and sent the case back to the Quebec court to assess the mental state of Côté, now 74 years old. However, the Court of Appeal proposed an innovation in a case of this nature by proposing two exit options.
- If the psychiatric assessment comes to the conclusion that the defendant is permanently or permanently incapacitated, the proceedings must be discontinued.
- If it is a case of temporary incapacity, the judgment must be postponed.
In the Côté case, the doctors' findings were clear: “Severe mental disorder with loss of reality and impairment of cognitive functions,” the decision reads.
Judge Bouillon therefore ordered the suspension of the proceedings on December 8th, thereby terminating the criminal proceedings. Both the defense and the Crown considered that this was the only possible course of action given the defendant's condition and the Court of Appeal's conclusions.
Check the law
However, this ban does not mean that André Côté is completely free. The man is under the care of the University Institute of Mental Health of Quebec (IUSMQ) and his file has been communicated in particular to the public curator.
Here this decision also takes on full significance for the defender.
“The Court of Appeal has taken care to respect the rights of the Lord, but also to ensure that the rights of the community and the protection of the public are respected,” welcomes the lawyer, but calls on the legislature to address the issue to the Court of Appeal did it.
“On a practical level, it would be more effective if we had a uniform procedure that applies in all cases. “It would be logical to amend the chapter on mental disorders in the Criminal Code to allow for a process similar to that of ‘pre-judgment,’” Me Doyon judges.
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