(Longueuil) The president of the Fédération du Commerce, one of the largest unions in Quebec, admitted Monday to having installed a hidden camera in a bathroom to film a woman without her knowledge for a year and a half. Alexandre Boileau-Laviolette now faces prison.
Posted at 1:45 p.m.
The 43-year-old union leader pleaded guilty Monday morning at the Longueuil courthouse to one count of voyeurism. He was also acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman over a period of several years, since the Crown chose not to present evidence.
Since February 2021, Alexandre Boileau-Laviolette has led the Fédération du commerce (FC-CSN), a union affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which brings together nearly 30,000 members in the wholesale and retail trade, agri-food, finance and tourism.
He is the son of the former president of the CSN Marc Laviolette, who died last year.
The criminal charges were brought against him in March 2021, just one month after he took office. Then, the legal process dragged on. Thus, he was re-elected as president in May 2024, despite this sword of Damocles. It is not clear whether its members were aware of his problems with the law.
A court order protects the identity of the victim. We must therefore omit certain details of the case.
He says he played the “idiot”
A few years ago, the victim made a shocking discovery: a small camera was hidden under her bathroom vanity. It was Alexandre Boileau-Laviolette, her acquaintance at the time, who placed her there. Furious, the woman destroyed the camera in front of him.
“The accused will then spontaneously tell the complainant that he was being stupid,” indicates the agreed statement of facts read in the courtroom.
-The woman, however, had kept the memory card. Years later, she complained to the police.
The videos taken without the victim’s knowledge are crystal clear: her privacy was violated without her knowledge on several occasions. In nine videos, we can see her taking a shower. His buttocks and genitals clearly visible. In another video, the offender and the victim have a sexual relationship.
In two videos, the accused is seen placing the camera, then sitting on the toilet to check the camera angle. A few seconds later, the woman enters the bathroom to take a shower.
The evidence does not reveal that these images were shared, according to the facts admitted by the accused.
Every year, dozens, even hundreds of Quebecers from all walks of life are caught in a case of voyeurism. Punishments generally range from absolution to a few months in prison, although the maximum sentence is five years. The consequences are very real for the victims.
Crown prosecutor Me Julie Sidara-Charron requested the preparation of a pre-sentence report with a psychosexual component. The case must return to court next May for submissions on the sentence.
Alexandre Boileau-Laviolette is defended by Me Guy Poupart and Me Alexandra Boulanger. His lawyers declined to comment on Monday.
