Judge protests against suggested sentence | An actor who attacked sleeping women receives a harsh sentence

An actor who sexually assaulted two women in their sleep unwrapped a final “Christmas present” on Monday: an “extremely lenient” sentence for sexually assaulting two women in their sleep. Dissatisfied, the judge came very close to rejecting this common suggestion.

« [Émile Beaudry] is a very dangerous being. He is selfish, cruel and brutal. […] He used sexual violence to take revenge against his intimate partners with the aim of dehumanizing and despising them,” said Judge Manlio Del Negro on Monday in a packed room at the Montreal courthouse.

Émile Beaudry, a 43-year-old actor and computer programmer, made himself known on the small screen in small roles for a few episodes in series District 31 et RAMs. He also starred in a few short films. He was found guilty last summer of four counts of sexual assault following his trial.

On Monday, Crown prosecutor M^e Mathieu Castonguay and defense lawyer M^e Anne-Geneviève Robert presented a joint suggestion of three and a half years of detention.

In theory, the judge has the final say in imposing the sentence. In practice, since the Supreme Court’s Cook decision in 2016, the judge has almost no room to reject a joint recommendation. It must bring the administration of justice into disrepute or be contrary to the public interest.

In recent years, Judge Del Negro is one of the very few judges in Quebec to have rejected a common sentencing suggestion. But on Monday, it was with “great reluctance” that he endorsed this “extremely lenient” sentence. If he had had more freedom, he would have imposed a “much more severe” sentence, he insisted.

In four decades of career as a jurist, Judge Del Negro claims to have rarely seen a case as “reprehensible” as this one. In his eyes, Émile Beaudry raped these women not because he wanted to have a sexual relationship, but simply to “dehumanize” them, as soldiers do to “harm their enemies.”

The defense argued that Émile Beaudry has followed around a hundred therapy sessions and presents a low risk of recidivism. Arguments swept aside by Judge Del Negro.

“You did not fool me, Mr. Beaudry,” said the judge, staring at the delinquent. The judge then called him a “cruel” and “manipulative” man. “You think you are finer and more beautiful than others,” continued the magistrate.

“I want to apologize to the two victims and their loved ones for their suffering,” said Émile Beaudry pitifully.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed”

The two victims, whose identities are protected, told the Court that they still experience serious consequences from the sexual assaults perpetrated by Émile Beaudry.

“I literally lost control of my life,” illustrated the first victim. Post-traumatic shock, alcoholism, isolation: she was branded by these attacks.

At the start of their courtship, Émile Beaudry sexually assaulted her while she slept. However, she had just refused sexual intercourse. “Go back to sleep, you’re so beautiful, it won’t take long,” he told her when she woke up in fright. On the second occasion, Beaudry attacked her with “anger and violence”.

A few years later, Beaudry did it again to another woman. She woke up one evening while the offender was penetrating her and grabbing her throat. The second attack was particularly brutal. “He used his partner’s private parts as if he were in a buffet,” the judge summarized.

The second victim regrets having trusted “blindly” in Émile Beaudry. She has lived in shame ever since. In tears, she confided that the judgment rendered by the judge last summer was, however, a “balm” in her life and gave her confidence in the judicial system.

“You shouldn’t be ashamed. It’s not your fault. You are a victim,” insisted Judge Del Negro, with empathy.