Warning: This story contains disturbing details of sexual abuse. A list of resources for survivors of sexual assault appears at the end of the article.
A Quebec man convicted of sexual assault who was granted parole in part because a judge wanted him to be able to travel for work continued to grope a woman at a resort in Cuba, Radio-Canada has learned.
Simon Houle, an engineer from Trois-Rivières, admitted to sexually assaulting a woman in 2019 and, according to the verdict, to taking intimate photos of her while she was sleeping.
Public outcry grew after news that Quebec court judge Mathieu Poliquin had suspended Uhle last month, based in part on his good behavior. Houle will have no criminal record while complying with a number of conditions for a three-month probationary period.
But less than two weeks after receiving that discharge, a woman claims Hule groped her behind at a resort bar in Cayo Coco, Cuba.
Vickie Vachon was staying at the resort with a group when she says she met Houle, who was on vacation a few days after being discharged. Radio-Canada obtained photos of Houle confirming he was at the resort at the time.
Vachon said Houle “aggressively” grabbed her buttocks in front of a witness on the night of July 3. It wasn’t until a few days later, when he was back in Quebec, that he recognized the man on the news.
“I want the referees to think twice before they let a striker go free,” Vachon told Radio-Canada.
Vachon, the alleged victim, would be Hule’s third. During the court proceedings, Houle admitted to sexually assaulting another woman in 2015 – an admission which the judge described as “disturbing” but which “demonstrates [Houle’s] desire for transparency’ and his serious approach to rehabilitation.
Radio-Canada contacted Houle on Friday for comment. He did not respond and his lawyer, Pierre Spain, declined an interview request.
Touched in a “very intense” way
Vochon said she was with friends at the bar when a man who identified himself as Simon joined their conversation. She said they enjoyed talking to him.
Vachon, Houle and another person then sent one of her friends to their room. On their way back to the bar, the touching happened, she said.
“As I was walking, Simon grabbed my bottom in a very, very intense, very aggressive way, with a very large fist,” she described.
Simon Hole, who pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and voyeurism, was given conditional discharge and three months of probation after a Quebec court judge ruled the criminal record would have disproportionately affected his career as an engineer. (Simon Houle/Facebook)
Vochon said she reacted immediately, getting angry, screaming and kicking him in the shins.
“I immediately asked him, ‘Can you tell me what I did or what I said that made you believe you had the right to touch me?’ Tell me!” she said. “And then he said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s my hands.’ It’s not me, it’s my hands.
Vochon said they talked for another 20 to 30 minutes and she explained to him why the touching was inappropriate. She said she thought she had hit a nerve as his eyes watered and hoped he wouldn’t do it again.
“I said to him, looking him in the eye, ‘Do you do this in Quebec, touch girls’ butts?’ When you walk into a bar, do you allow yourself to touch the girls like you just did with me?
After learning that Hullet had already pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Quebec, Vochon began to wonder how far the meeting in Cuba might have gone.
“What could have happened to me? I’m telling you, he’s a big guy,” Vochon said.
“Those are the thoughts I’m having right now, realizing that something bad might have happened. Because this guy doesn’t have a criminal record, because he can travel.”
Protesters gathered outside a Montreal courthouse on Sunday to call for the resignation of a Quebec court judge following Hule’s conditional discharge. (Rowan Kennedy/CBC)
Criminal complaint
Radio-Canada spoke to the third tourist who witnessed the alleged incident and confirmed Vachon’s account.
A second tourist, Jose Binet – who was traveling with Vochon – also identified Hole as the man at the bar. She wasn’t there for the incident, but said Vochon told her about it the very next day.
After returning to Quebec, Vachon filed a complaint with the Lac des Deux-Montagnes police station, which serves the city of Deux-Montagnes and other suburbs located northwest of Montreal. A police spokesman confirmed the complaint had been lodged and said an investigator had been appointed to the case.
Quebec’s Office of the Director of Criminal and Prosecutions said in a statement that it would not comment on this particular case, but said there are precedents in Canadian law in the event that a probation order is violated abroad.
The Crown previously said it planned to appeal Houle’s sentence, which includes parole, in the coming weeks.
“I think about other victims. How must they feel knowing that this guy can still do almost anything he wants? He can go anywhere, in any country,” Vachon said.
“The judicial system let a man get away with it.”
There are resources and support available to anyone who has experienced sexual abuse:
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