She confronts Gilbert Rozon in civil court, after his criminal acquittal

A woman who accuses Gilbert Rozon of having sexually assaulted her confronted him again in court this morning, she who had had to testify during the criminal trial which ended in an acquittal of the ex-money magnate humor due to reasonable doubt.

• Also read: Civil trial of Gilbert Rozon: a victim has the impression of “missing out on his life”

• Also read: Gilbert Rozon is a “real predator”, according to the nine women who are suing him

“The word doesn’t want to get out, but he raped me. He knew I didn’t want to,” said Annick Charette after a long silence, Wednesday morning at the Montreal courthouse.

The 64-year-old woman, now president of the National Federation of Communications and Culture (FNCC–CSN), once again had to tell the court the story of the sexual assault she says she suffered from by Gilbert Rozon in 1980.

But this time, it is within the framework of a civil trial where she is demanding more than $14 million from the former comedy mogul, jointly with eight other women: Lyne Charlebois, Guylaine Courcelles, Anne- Marie Charette, Patricia Tulasne, Sophie Moreau, Danie Frenette, Marylena Sicari and Martine Roy.

Sexual assault

According to M’s version^me Charette, the sexual assault occurred following an outing in a nightclub in Saint-Sauveur, in the Laurentians. The fallen comedy mogul would have found a pretext to take her to a house and make advances towards her.

The woman refused and at Rozon’s insistence, she allegedly struggled.

“I’m really angry, disconcerted by the situation, I don’t understand why it’s happening like this,” Ms.^me Cart.

She had to stay and sleep there since the ex-businessman allegedly refused to take her back to her parents. The next morning, she woke up to Rozon raping her.

“It was like my brain decided to disconnect from everything else and I looked out the window,” recalled M^me Charette, at the time a CEGEP student.

Following the alleged assault, Annick Charette felt ashamed and angry, “reduced to something [qu’elle] could not conceive [d’elle-même]».

Criminal trial

Even though more than a dozen women had filed complaints with the police, only Annick Charette’s case ultimately led to charges.

At the criminal trial held in 2020, Gilbert Rozon swore to have respected consent and even emphasized that it was M^me Charette who had taken advantage of him while he slept. This version had raised a reasonable doubt among judge Mélanie Hébert, even if she had believed the victim.

“To reverse a story to this extent is sordid and degrading. I couldn’t even get up to defend myself, because no one did,” said Annick Charette, who had the publication ban lifted at the end of the trial.

Annick Charette’s testimony continues Wednesday afternoon.