The couple accused of having kidnapped a teenager after he and his friends tried to play a prank by going to ring his house bell have just been acquitted of three counts, while the jury was unable to reach a conclusion. agree on three other counts.
This therefore means that Claude Bourgie and Mariama Diaby will have to undergo a new trial in the coming weeks at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse. After more than five days of deliberations, the members of the jury were unable to reach a unanimous verdict regarding the charges of kidnapping and assault against a 14-year-old teenager against Claude Bourgie and that of assault. made against another young person who weighed against Mariama Diaby.
According to the evidence that the Crown presented at the trial, four teenagers went to ring the doorbell at the couple’s house in Saint-Sauveur, in the Laurentians, and then left quickly in August 2021. This prank is commonly called “ringing”.
Photo FILED IN COURT
Two young people would have gone in one direction and the other two in another. Their identities are protected by a publication ban.
Bourgie quickly left his house and got into his convertible Porsche 911 car to head towards a group that was a few houses away from his home.
Assault
Once there, the sixty-year-old allegedly got out of his vehicle and began to beat one of the teenagers, then aged 14, while his partner allegedly hit one of his friends in the face.
The sixty-year-old then allegedly grabbed the teenager he hit and forcibly transported him to his garage.
“Mr. Bourgie asked me to get on my knees, to lie on my stomach. Then he found a rope in his garage and asked [un tiers] to tie me up,” the victim mentioned during the trial.
The young man was finally released a few minutes later by a police officer called to the scene by his friends.
Version of the accused
As the jury’s deliberations are confidential, it is impossible to know the content of the discussions or which versions it retained.
Mariama Diaby testified at the trial that she had to defend herself against young people who attacked her, after having her cell phone stolen which had been left on a table outside the house.
During his testimony, Claude Bourgie called the four teenagers “thieves”, “provocateurs” and “very, very rude”.
The mining consultant remained silent on what happened once the teenager was in the garage, while his partner swore she had no knowledge of what was happening there.
The members of the jury, however, believed Mariama Diaby’s version, since she was acquitted of the charge of kidnapping.
They also acquitted Claude Bourgie of charges of assault and death threats against another teenager.
The parties will return to court for further proceedings in the coming weeks.
