Cell phones of ex-Tigers players guilty of sexual assault remain sealed

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Ex-players accused of sexual assault, Massimo Siciliano and Nicolas Daigle (Archive photo)

• Érik Chouinard (View profile)Érik Chouinard

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The contents of the cell phones of the two former Victoriaville Tigers players guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl will never be made public. Judge Thomas Jacques maintained the seal and publication ban on this evidence to protect the victim and the healthy administration of justice.

He thus rejects the request made by the media consortium's lawyer, Me Patricia Hénault, on October 20, when determining the dates for the sentencing hearings.< /p>

During the hearing on the motion, last December 18, not only the lawyers of the two former players, Massimo Siciliano and Nicolas Daigle, but also that of the victim opposed the disclosure of this evidence.

In his decision rendered Wednesday, the judge rightly emphasizes the importance of protecting the victim of sexual assault, who was of minor age at the time of the facts, with the aim, among other things, of encouraging denunciation.

The documents discovered in the cell phones were to be part of the trial of the two ex-hockey players, Massimo Siciliano and Nicolas Daigle, but they remained under seal since they pleaded guilty, which quickly ended the trial, or from the first day.

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The different parties s&# x27;were previously heard so that the accused would plead guilty, on the condition, among other things, that this evidence would not be revealed by any of them.

As the agreement on their guilt made it possible to avoid two weeks of trial and all the consequences that this could have imposed on the victim and the culprits, the judge considers that publishing the evidence would undermine such agreements and having pleaded guilty.

He believes his decision preserves the balance between the public interest in the publication of judicial proceedings and the sound administration of justice.

Some content had already were revealed to members of the media in court during preliminary hearings, during which the defense attempted to have the evidence collected from the phones excluded from the trial. It was then subject to a publication ban pending disclosure at trial since admissibility was being debated at that time.

The attack occurred in a room at the Entourage-sur-le-Lac hotel in Lac-Beauport, where the Tigres were celebrating their conquest of the President's Cup, which they had just won at the Center Videotron, in June 2021.

Aged 17 at the time of the facts, the victim was an employee of this establishment hotelier. She refused to have three-way sex, but the two players still waited for her in a room.

Nicolas Daigle is also guilty of having produced a video without the victim's knowledge during the act and of having made it accessible.

The sentencing hearings for the two ex-Victoriaville Tigres players guilty of sexual assault will take place from March 18 to 21.

• Érik Chouinard (View profile)Érik ChouinardFollow