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 chorus of outrage from victims’ rights groups, politicians and other Quebecers grew this week after a Quebec judge’s decision to parole a man who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and voyeurism.
Judge Mathieu Poliquin issued the ruling last month after Simon Uhle, an engineer from Trois-Rivières, admitted to sexually assaulting a woman in 2019 and, according to the ruling, taking pictures of her “private parts” while she sleep
In his ruling, Poliquin said the criminal record would “have a significant impact” on Houle’s career, prompting many advocates for survivors of sexual assault to say the conviction downplays the severity of sexual assault and may contribute to victims’ reluctance to come forward. come out with their own grievances.
Parole means Houle will have no criminal record if he follows a series of probationary conditions, in this case three months.
Some legal experts now question the weight that certain factors, such as a person’s professional status, have on a sentence and whether parole can ever be the right solution in a sexual assault case.
Too condescending a message?
In his ruling, the judge described how the victim, asleep at a party, was “awakened by the light of a camera. She felt fingers in her vagina moving back and forth.” Her camisole was up and her bra was unbuttoned in the front.
A few days later, a friend of the perpetrator, who was aware of the event, looked at Houle’s phone. “He then found in the bin of the device photographs of a woman’s private parts,” the judge said.
Rachel Chagnon, a professor in the department of law at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), says the judge’s role is to determine the most appropriate sentence for the individual case before him or her, taking into account aggravating and mitigating factors.
“If the accused planned the crime, that is an aggravating circumstance. If the accused regrets his actions, that is mitigating,” she said.
UQAM law professor Rachel Chagnon questions whether Judge Mathieu Poliquin placed too much emphasis on Hule’s private life when he delivered his sentencing decision. (Radio-Canada)
She said that in this case, the judge concluded that there were more mitigating factors than aggravating factors, which is why he chose a lighter sentence. However, Chagnon questions the message that sexual assault parole sends to the public.
In sentencing, “visible justice is as important as justice itself to ensure public confidence in the system,” she said.
“In a world where we recognize that historically we haven’t been tough enough, that we haven’t sent a clear enough message about the seriousness of sexual assault, does a sentence that seems relatively lenient at first glance send the message we want it to send?” – Chagnon asked in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Midi info.
Not a popular decision, but a fair one: a criminal lawyer
In his ruling, the judge said Hole “deeply regrets his actions” and the consequences of the criminal record “will have a particularly negative and disproportionate impact on him”, in part because it will be difficult for him to travel for his job as an engineer officer.
Poliquin noted that Houle also sought therapy, and he admitted to sexually assaulting another woman in 2015. That admission, while “disturbing,” Poliquin said, also demonstrated his “desire for transparency” and Houle’s serious approach to rehabilitation.
Simon Hole, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault and voyeurism, has been granted parole after a judge ruled his criminal record would have a disproportionate impact on his career as an engineer. (Simon Houle/Facebook)
In making his decision, Chagnon said the judge gave considerable weight to the specific reality of the perpetrator.
“It raises the question of whether we’re leaving too much room for subjectivity in terms of the sympathies one might have for the aggressor — if we don’t put too much emphasis on those elements.”
However, Eric Sutton, a Montreal criminal lawyer, said all elements of Hule’s personal life are important considerations that cannot be ignored.
“I think we as a community would appreciate someone who pleads guilty, shows remorse … has undertaken therapy, is well educated [and] wants to pursue a career as a professional,” Sutton said.
Defense attorney Eric Sutton, seen here, said it is not the judge’s responsibility to educate or reassure the public, but to make the right decision based on the facts presented in the case. (Jaela Bernstien/CBC)
While most people would agree that sexual assault is a very serious crime, according to Sutton, “that doesn’t mean that under no circumstances can someone be released.” He pointed out that such rulings are increasingly rare in sexual assault cases under Canadian law.
Sutton said that while usually someone guilty of sexual assault would end up with a sentence, he said a release was warranted in this particular case.
“[The judge] explains his reasoning process; he applies the right principles and I think it’s a very strong decision. It might not be popular, but I think it’s really fair.”
Appeal avenues
Contrary to Chagnon, Sutton does not believe it is the judge’s responsibility to educate or reassure the public. He said it was the judge’s responsibility to make the right decision based on the facts before him.
Quebec’s Office of the Director of Criminal and Prosecutions (DPCP) said it will appeal Houle’s sentence in the coming weeks.
Sutton says he agrees with critics who say Hule’s admission that he sexually assaulted another woman four years earlier should have been a “concern” for the judge in this case, but he doesn’t know whether just that would be enough for a higher court to reverse Poliquin’s decision leading to conviction.
The length of the assault, which Poliquin said happened “generally, quickly,” could also be something a judge hearing the appeal would consider an unworthy consideration, Sutton said.
Cassandra Richards, a criminal lawyer and sexual assault researcher at McGill University, said the outcry over Hule’s case underscores the clash in society over how best to hold people accountable for sexual assault crimes.
“On the one hand, we have a movement that wants crimes of sexual violence to be taken seriously because they haven’t been taken seriously for too long. And on the other hand, we have a movement that is pushing for an alternative to prisons that recognizes that prisons don’t always keep our communities safer,” she said.
“I think the question is, can parole take into account the seriousness of the sexual assault? And I think for some people it might, [for] some people can’t.”
There are resources and support available to anyone who has experienced sexual abuse:
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