Ex-PQ leader André Boisclair gets 2 years less a day in jail for sexual assaults.
Former Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair was sentenced on Monday to two years less a day in jail after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two young men in his Montreal apartment.
Quebec court Judge Pierre Labelle said Boisclair’s acts had “devastating consequences” on the two victims, adding that the sentence is sufficiently severe and takes into account the fact that the former politician has shown remorse and pleaded guilty.
“The acts committed by the offender are highly reprehensible,” Labelle said, and they left “profound wounds” to the dignity of his victims.
The sentence of two years less a day — meaning Boisclair will serve his sentence in a provincial jail rather than a federal prison — was jointly recommended by the Crown and Boisclair’s lawyer. It also includes two years of probation.
Former PQ leader Andre Boisclair sentenced to two years less a day for sex assaults ( Source : Theglobeandmail )
Is Andre Boisclair Married To A Wife? Does He Have Kids?
The 56-year-old Andre Boisclair is a former politician in Quebec, Canada, who does not have a wife as he is openly gay.
Born in Montreal, he gets known for his times as the former Parti Québécois leader as he was a part of an affluent francophone Montreal neighborhood.
His entry to the political stratosphere was apparent as he got his education from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf while becoming the Federation of Quebec College Students president.
Indeed, his education halted once he made his journey to the government but returned to John F. Kennedy School of Government to finish his Master’s in Public Administration program.
Before getting labeled as a sexual predator, he got held as a hero in the LGBTQ plus community of Canada as it gave more emerging queer youth a chance to dream.
Moreover, his reputation has stayed tainted as a party animal and a cocaine user, but the case over sexual violation destroyed the last straw holding up his prestige as it tumbled to the ground.
Did Quebec Politician Andre Boisclair Go To Jail?
Boisclair pleaded guilty on June 20 to one count of sexual assault with the participation of another person and one count of sexual assault. The two assaults took place in January 2014 and November 2015 at Boisclair’s Montreal apartment, and both involved men in their early 20s whom Boisclair met online.
The former politician was taken into custody immediately after Labelle delivered the sentence.
Boisclair’s lawyer, Michel Massicotte, declined to comment as he left the courtroom.
His two victims, whose identities are protected by a publication ban, were present at the sentencing.
Prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme said he thinks the victims are starting to feel relief.
“We can only hope that from now on, life will be sweeter for them,” Laflamme told reporters after the sentencing.
The sentence, he said, “sends a message that offences like these offences are serious and they are harshly punished.”
In court, Labelle praised the two victims for their courage at the June 20 hearing, when they told the court how their encounters with the former politician continue to haunt them.
One of the men testified that he suffers from depression and social anxiety and that the ambitious young man he was in 2014 “doesn’t exist anymore.” The man said he dropped out of university and gave up on dreams of entering politics as a result of the assault.
The other man described his assault as an “open wound that has not healed to this day.”
Boisclair will be banned from contacting his victims or mentioning them on social media during his probation. He will also be banned from possessing or using drugs, including cannabis, during the first year of his probation.
The unusual sentence means that he would serve his penalty in a provincial jail rather than a federal prison, with additional two years on probation.
The judgment got made after he admitted to his sins on June 20, as the crimes took place in January 2014 and November 2015 at his Montreal apartment.
As the victims were men he met online and were only in their early 20s, the judge applauded them for their courage.
The prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme has ascertained his compliance with the verdict as the men can finally enjoy their justice while sending a message that serious offenses will get harshly punished.
What Is Andre Boisclair’s Net Worth?
Before getting charged for assault, he was a pivotal member of the Parti Québécois, joining in 1984. As he was only 23, he became the youngest member ever elected to the Quebec National Assembly while still having a reputation as a party animal.
His political endeavors remained unaffected by the claims as he served as a cabinet minister till 2003 and held the position of the parliamentary leader till his resignation from the drug scandal.
After his concession, his influence became stronger as he got elected as the sixth leader of the Parti Québécois.
Even when controversies riddled his reign, he became the Citizenship and Immigration Minister and Social Solidarity Minister under former Premier of Quebec Lucien Bouchard before stepping down in 2007.
