
Sexual Assault in the Army: Ex-Corporal Wants Out of Jail
Hubert Boissel-Caron was expelled from the army after being found guilty of the charges against him. (File photo)
Ex-Canadian Forces Corporal Hubert Boissel-Caron Requests Appeal Court Intervention After Being Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison .
The 37-year-old man sexually assaulted three female soldiers he was instructing in Valcartier in the summer of 2018.
His lawyers criticize the judge for having sought to set an example at all costs, without considering the consequences experienced by his client after he admitted his guilt.
During the observations on the sentence, on March 9, Me Kamy Pelletier-Khamphinith deplored that Boissel-Caron had his medals withdrawn in addition to being expelled from the army, to which the judge replied that he would was doing the smallest thing.
Lawyer Kamy Pelletier-Khamphinith
The consequences already suffered are not "the least of things" , write the lawyers Kamy Pelletier-Khamphinith and Félix-Antoine T. Doyon, in their request to the Court of Appeal.
On the contrary, the consequences have "an impact on [sir's] ability to lead a productive life in the community,” they insist, citing case law.
Me Pelletier-Khamphinith had demanded a conditional discharge for the ex-corporal who touched the victims aged in their twenties. The assaults occurred during improvised massages, during training sessions during which Boissel-Caron was in a position of authority.
Judge Jean Asselin instead imposed a prison term approaching the 18 months sought by the prosecution.
Me Kamy Pelletier-Khamphinith, followed by her client Hubert Boissel-Caron (left), in October 2022.
The defense had also requested that the ex-soldier be able to serve his sentence in the community, if the Court rejected the request for absolution .
“The trial judge erred in not truly applying the principle of restraint when considering the sentence of imprisonment in the community”
— Excerpt from the motion of the lawyers for Hubert Boissel- Caron
Not only did Judge Asselin reject the motion for discharge, he also relied on the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of the engineer Simon Houle to reject the possibility of a sentence in the community.
The defense lawyers intend to demonstrate to the Court of Appeal that Judge Asselin gave too much rigidity to the Court's remarks in Houle.
Hubert Boissel-Caron will ask for his release on Wednesday, pending the Court of Appeal's decision. is looking into his file.