Former soldier sentenced to 6 months for sexual assault

Former Canadian Armed Forces warrant officer André Gagnon has been sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting former master corporal Stéphanie Raymond.

He will also be added to the sex offender registry for 10 years and have his DNA taken.

Judge Réna Émond rendered her decision Wednesday morning at the Quebec City courthouse convicting Gagnon of various sexual assaults against Raymond who was of lower rank than him.

Among the aggravating factors the judge cited were the power dynamic between the victim and her assailant, the breach of trust, the use of physical force, and repeated and increasingly intrusive and serious gestures.

The assault took place in December 2011 when Gagnon and Raymond went to the Régiment de la Chaudière Armory after attending a Christmas party with colleagues at the Vieux-Duluth in Lévis, Que.

The victim’s vulnerability and the serious consequences she faced in the aftermath of the assault as well as the length of the court proceedings were also factors in the case.

Gagnon initially pleaded not guilty at his court martial and was acquitted. Military prosecutors appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which finally ordered a new, civilian trial.

But on March 26, a decade after the incident and just as the new trial was about to begin in Quebec City, Gagnon finally admitted to having touched Raymond’s breasts and genitals, in addition to having attempted to penetrate her, without her consent.

CBC