The two ex-players of the Victoriaville Tigers guilty of sexual assault went all out before the highest court in the province in the hope of avoiding the penitentiary on Wednesday morning.
• Also read: After three days in prison: Daigle and Siciliano released for the moment
• Also read: Hockey players guilty of rape: the penitentiary for two former Victoriaville Tigers players
• Also read: Ex-Tigers players guilty of sexual assault: the victim testifies to the consequences in his life
Sentenced respectively to 32 and 30 months of detention last July, Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano are calling for the annulment of the first instance judgment to instead serve a prison sentence in the community.
Photos taken from the QMJHL website
Free during the proceedings, they listened remotely to the hearing before the Quebec Court of Appeal while their lawyers alleged several errors which, according to them, led to an “unindicated and disproportionate” sentence.
The latter criticize the judge in particular for being inspired by the sentencing ranges established in the infamous case of ex-producer Guy Cloutier which set a precedent 20 years ago.
“What Cloutier did has no common measure with what the accused did and it is in this context that we are pleading,” said Mr.e Michel LeBrun, who represents Daigle.
Rehabilitation
In the eyes of the prosecutors, Judge Thomas Jacques gave too little importance to the profile of the offenders, such as their young age – 18 years old at the time of the facts – and the absence of a criminal record, which would argue for a sentence favoring social reintegration. .
“A person’s imprisonment in the community is not a lenient sentence,” argued Siciliano’s lawyer, Mr.e Charles Levasseur by highlighting the important conditions associated with it.
The defense also criticizes the weight given to the notions of breach of trust and vulnerability of the victim which would be disproportionate according to their reading of the facts.
On the contrary, for Me Olivier T. Raymond, in prosecution, the sentence reflects “the severity, here, of the crimes” and the “high degree of responsibility of the appellants in the commission of these crimes”.
“Trapped”
Remember that during the events, in June 2021, the fallen hockey players celebrated their victory in the President’s Cup in a hotel in the Quebec region.
The complainant, aged 17, had agreed to go to Daigle’s room while insisting on being alone with him. She felt “trapped” when she noticed Siciliano’s presence and never consented to the sexual acts during which there was simultaneous anal and vaginal penetration.
“At several times [les accusés] had the opportunity to stop, to put an end to all this, to limit the consequences, but they did not do it,” remarked Me Raymond.
Daigle faced additional charges for filming the victim without her knowledge and then showing the video to members of his team and a coach.
The fate of Daigle and Siciliano is now in the hands of the three judges of the Court of Appeal who have taken the case under advisement.
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