A rape victim in Montreal had to be lugged to three different hospitals to carry out a forensic kit, with the first facility refusing to proceed because she is French-speaking, a judge has revealed.
“The first hospital refuses to do the exam since their mother tongue is French. [Les policiers] take her to a second hospital which also refuses her since no forensic kit is available there. It is finally in a third hospital that the examination will be done, ”explained judge Alexandre Dalmau, this morning at the Montreal courthouse.
The magistrate related a sexual assault that occurred in the summer of 2020, when the accused Martin Jolicoeur, a 45-year-old resident of Lachine, attacked an acquaintance while the latter was sleeping. And this, even if she had expressly stated that she did not want reconciliations.
Feeling “betrayed and dirty, not listened to and respected”, the woman had left the premises. She started looking for a police station, but without success, the judge said. The woman, whose identity is protected by the court, then called 911.
Repeated refusals
“Patrollers picked her up on the street, explained the judge. She tells them what happened. She agrees to accompany them to the hospital for a forensic examination.
This is where things went wrong for the woman, who is French-speaking.
Fortunately, the police did not give up despite the refusal of two hospitals to take care of the woman, who has suffered many wrongs since the events.
The names of the hospitals in question were not specified before the court.
The victim suffered “insomnia and loss of appetite,” the judge said.
“The event led to a drop in self-esteem. She experiences feelings of betrayal, misunderstanding, anger and shame, as well as grief.”
No leniency
The rapist had been arrested and following his trial, he had been convicted of sexual assault. And even if he hoped to get away with a suspended sentence, the judge decided instead to send him to prison for 18 months, despite his rehabilitation.
“The offender transgressed the victim’s limits, when she was vulnerable,” said the judge, among other things.
Once released from prison, Jolicoeur will have to respect a probation of three years. He will also be on the sex offender registry for two decades.
More details to come…
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