The trial of the two former Victoriaville Tigres players accused of sexual assault opened Tuesday morning in Quebec but has already been suspended at the request of the defense, which wants to work on admissions that would avoid the submission of evidence. certain elements or testimonies.
The highly anticipated trial of Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano did not open as expected on Tuesday morning.
From the start, defense attorneys asked Judge Thomas Jacques for a nearly two-hour recess to speak with their clients and the Crown.
SCREENSHOT / VAT NEWS / QMI AGENCY
The suspension will ultimately last at least until Wednesday afternoon. The defense said it was working on admissions that would significantly shorten the trial, which was scheduled to last 11 days.
“We hope for a trial based entirely on confessions,” said Me Michel Lebrun, Nicolas Daigle’s lawyer.
Cell phones admitted as evidence
These concessions would have the effect of avoiding the taking into evidence of certain elements or certain witness statements.
We recall that the defense had filed a motion to exclude evidence regarding the contents of the two defendants’ cell phones. The latter considered the seizure and production of evidence to be unconstitutional, but Judge Thomas Jacques ruled otherwise.
Some content on these phones, which is still banned from publication, is quite confidential. The defense had also requested that these elements be heard in camera during the pre-trial proceedings to prevent the media from becoming aware of them.
Expected process
The trial of Daigle and Siciliano marks an important milestone in the sex scandals that have rocked the hockey world in recent years.
An English-speaking journalist from TSN who attended the opening of the trial on Tuesday is evidence of the enthusiasm that exists beyond Quebec for this case, which puts the toxic culture surrounding hockey in the dock.
Rick Westhead has been in the spotlight for sex scandals surrounding Hockey Canada, including the organization’s out-of-court settlement with a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by several Team Canada junior players in 2018.
Remembering facts
Recall that on the sidelines of the President’s Cup series of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the two hockey players allegedly sexually assaulted a young employee of the hotel where their team was staying. The events are said to have occurred on the night of June 5-6, 2021, as the Tigers players and management celebrated their victory in the grand final.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Roy / LHJMQ
The complainant, who was 17 at the time of the crime, had exchanged text messages with Nicolas Daigle in the days before the alleged attack. On the night of June 6, she agreed to join the athlete in his room, but on the grounds that she wanted him to be alone, one of the investigators said in the file during the hearing of preliminary submissions in preparation for the trial.
Hugo Audette (15) of the Remparts de Québec and Massimo Siciliano (13) of the Victoriaville Tigres during the first period of action at the Videotron Center, Saturday, October 3, 2020. DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE/JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC Photo Didier Debusschere
When she arrived in the room, she allegedly found Daigle and Massimo Siciliano, after which a three-way sexual relationship ensued, to which she did not consent. A video of the crime was allegedly recorded and then shown to certain people.
The two hockey players were arrested in the following days by police officers from the Sûreté du Québec. Both are accused of sexual assault and recording a crime. Accusations of leaking a recording and non-consensual release of an intimate image were also added to Daigle’s file.
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