A former Canadian Armed Forces warrant officer André Gagnon has eventually met his waterloo as he has been sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting former master corporal Stéphanie Raymond.
Judge Réna Émond also ruled that he will be added to the sex offender registry for 10 years and have his DNA taken.
The Judge rendered her decision at the Quebec City courthouse convicting Gagnon of various sexual assaults against Raymond who was of lower rank than him.
It was gathered that among the exacerbating 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.
It was stated that 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.
Reports said Raymond’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.
It should be noted that Gagnon had initially pleded not guilty at his court martial and was acquitted but Military prosecutors appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which finally ordered a new, civilian trial.
Remarkably, 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.
