The engineer, who was given absolution after sexually assaulting a drunk friend, should instead receive up to 18 months in prison, the Crown pleaded in the Court of Appeal on Friday.
• Also read: Simon Houle’s absolution is questionable
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• Also read: Simon Houle case: the judge who acquitted the accused committed no ethical error
“Simon Houle attacked the victim in three different rooms, the victim tried to extricate himself from the situation. It took 24 minutes, it’s not “quick all in all”, as the trial judge described it. [L’accusé] took 9 photos which he kept for 44 days. The absolution does not reflect the seriousness of the situation,” the Crown’s Me Eve Lyne Goulet pleaded before the Quebec Court of Appeals this morning.
Houle, 31, made headlines this summer when he was granted a parole after confessing to sexually assaulting a friend at a party in Trois-Rivières in 2019. Also, he had taken photos that a friend of his found almost a month later.
Controversial verdict
However, after Houle was found guilty of sexual assault and voyeurism, Judge Matthieu Poliquin granted him a conditional parole so as not to damage his career.
“The conviction would have particularly negative consequences for him,” said the judge. A criminal record would prevent him from traveling.
This decision caused a public outcry. And for the Crown, it’s because it was an improper judgment.
“We must strengthen the victims’ trust in the justice system,” Me Goulet stressed this Friday. In certain cases absolution is appropriate, but not here.”
The prosecutor then recalled the impact the crime had had on the victim. Then, to counter Judge Poliquin’s argument that Houle was a person of “good character,” she recalled that “sex offenders don’t have a special profile.”
“The crimes are committed opportunistically,” the prosecutor reminded, asking the highest court in Quebec to replace absolution with a prison sentence of up to 18 months.
Not to mention that during the sentencing hearing, Houle admitted to having committed a similar crime in the past, for which he was never charged.
Houle defends the decision
Houle’s attorney, unsurprisingly, argued that his client should uphold his dismissal.
“The trial judge is on the front line, he is in the best position to impose a fair and reasonable sentence,” pleaded Me Pierre Spain.
The lawyer thus analyzed Poliquin’s judgment in order to demonstrate that there were no errors justifying the intervention of the Court of Appeal.
“When the judge said aggression was ‘quick overall’, if we read the whole paragraph we see that he didn’t minimize, that’s what he meant [Houle] didn’t commit these acts repeatedly over a long period of time,” he said, adding that all the post-sentence hype definitely had a chilling effect on his client.
After hearing the parties, the judges of the Court of Appeal announced that they would consider the case.
Alongside this hearing, Houle will face another probation violation charge. Shortly after receiving absolution, he flew to Cuba last July, where he allegedly grabbed the buttocks of a Quebec woman while on vacation.
WITH KIND PHOTO
Simon Houle, during his trip to Cuba after being released on sexual assault charges.
Upon her return to the country, Vickie Vachon had filed a complaint with the police, which led to her probation violation charges.
Should Houle be found guilty, it could jeopardize his absolution.