Ex-UQAM professor accused of sexual assault | The complainant portrayed by the defense as a vengeful ideologue against men

A feminist ideologue fueled by her revenge against men: the defense painted an extremely negative portrait of the complainant on Tuesday at the trial of Brad Aeon. Myths and stereotypes, according to the Crown, which maintains that the former UQAM professor sexually assaulted the woman on numerous occasions.

The Crown and defense presented opposite arguments to Judge Marie Kettlyne Ruben on Tuesday during their final arguments at the Montreal courthouse. Brad Aeon, a university researcher in time management and well-being, is accused of sexually assaulting Violette* and injuring her several times in 2021 and 2022.

At the trial, Violette bluntly recounted numerous extremely violent sexual assaults: slaps in the face, punches on the buttocks, biting until she bled, strangling, sodomy, etc. “Out of the blue, he jumped at my throat. He strangled me with both hands. I was quickly dizzy,” she said.

Brad Aeon bit Violette so often during sex that her body was covered in bruises, she testified. Once, in the middle of the street, in front of a restaurant, Brad Aeon bit her arm “extremely hard”, then allegedly pretended to attack her with his bicycle helmet, she said.

According to Crown prosecutor M^e Lauren Dahan, Violette testified with “honesty”, without trying to be “perfect”. The complainant gave a lot of details, never contradicted herself and even painted a sometimes “positive” portrait of the accused, noted the prosecutor.

During their relationship, Violette constantly reminded the accused of her acceptable “limits” in sexual matters, but Brad Aeon continued to exceed them, pointed out the prosecutor. Thus, Brad Aeon committed sexual assault by not ensuring he obtained the consent of the complainant, according to the Crown.

The defense lawyer was virulent towards the complainant: he carefully discredited her testimony by presenting her as a fabricator who invented everything to take revenge on her ex at the end of their relationship.

“She tried very hard to convince the Court that the accused was a violent sexual derangement (madmen), while she was an innocent victim trapped,” quipped M^e Adam Ginzburg.

According to the defense, Violette is an “ideologue” who believes that men are all “inherently violent.” Besides, she has already called herself a “misander”. Her “ideological position” on gender relations therefore led her to interpret Brad Aeon’s actions through a certain prism, continued M.^e Ginzburg, who among other things mentioned Violette’s “emotional behavior”.

At trial, Brad Aeon claimed to have been so afraid of the plaintiff, after reading her violent fictional writings, that he installed surveillance cameras in his home. To protect Violette’s identity, we must remain cautious of her writings. Please note, however, that these are serious works of fiction, and not simple “fanfiction” on the web.

For the defense, Violette’s fictional writings reflect her “hypocrisy” in relation to violence against men: her characters kill men, while she depicts Brad Aeon as a “monster”. Moreover, the notion of “revenge” is at the heart of his writing, insisted M.^e Ginzburg.

In his charge against Violette, M^e Ginzburg points out that she did not remember certain attacks, but she did remember “insignificant things” like the position of a chair. In addition, at the end of their relationship, Violette sent an overall positive “love letter” to Brad Aeon.

Highlighting the sending of this letter is akin to myths and stereotypes, argued the Crown prosecutor. “It is a stereotype to say that it is improbable that she sent a love letter after being abused,” pleaded M^e Dahan. A position that made M jump^e Ginzburg. “I did not try to stereotype the complainant,” he defended himself.

According to the defense, Brad Aeon always made sure to obtain the complainant’s consent. He gave “coherent” and “candid” testimony and must therefore be believed, argues M^e Ginzburg. And if the Court remains skeptical, it must at least conclude that he had the sincere, although erroneous, belief that she consented to the actions.

Judge Ruben will deliver her decision next November.