Île-Perrot man who sexually assaulted ex-girlfriend gets suspended sentence

In a case dating back eight years, Jonathan Gravel, 43, was given a 20-month suspended sentence that he can serve in the community.

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A man who sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend by sodomizing her while they had what would otherwise be consensual sex was given a suspended sentence in Montreal court on Monday that includes 14 months of house arrest.

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In a case dating back eight years, Jonathan Gravel, 43, from Île-Perrot, was given a 20-month suspended sentence that he can serve in the community. After reading a 58-page decision, Quebec court judge David Emmanuel Simon said the first 14 months of the sentence will involve house arrest.

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The suspended sentence will be followed by two years of probation.

While providing a detailed explanation of the sentence, the judge noted that Gravel was assessed to pose “almost no risk” of future reoffending.

Initially, prosecutor Alexis Dinelle called for Gravel to be sentenced to 15 months in prison, while defense attorney Anne-Sophie Dagenais recommended a 90-day prison sentence that her client could serve on weekends, as well as service. community. But late last year, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision that set a precedent for suspended sentences in sexual assault cases. In November, Simon asked both lawyers if they agreed that, due to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision, a suspended sentence was possible in Gravel’s case. Both lawyers agreed that it was an option.

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Immediately after pronouncing the sentence, Simón addressed the victim of the sexual assault who was following the hearing remotely via videoconference.

“I know you might find it unsatisfactory and I accept that,” the judge told the woman. “But I am also aware that there really is no sentence that can eradicate everything that he experienced since these events.”

During the sentence, Gravel will be required to perform 150 hours of community service.

“A suspended prison sentence can have an appreciative effect on reporting because it is possible to combine punitive and corrective objectives,” Simon said.

“It is indisputable, and I underline it, that the offense committed by (Gravel) was serious and that it continued to have significant repercussions on the victim.”

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But minutes later the judge also said: “I should not punish the crime but its author” while repeating that Gravel is considered very low risk of recidivism.

On May 24, 2018, Gravel was found guilty of one count of sexual assault. It took more than four years to complete the sentencing phase of his case because Gravel changed lawyers after he was convicted and filed a complicated motion alleging his rights were violated during the Montreal police investigation.

Eighteen months before the sexual assault, Gravel and the woman began a relationship. She fell apart over time and, on November 21, 2014, the woman was seeing someone else when she ran into Gravel at a cafe. They argued while at the cafe, but also agreed to go to a concert together later that night.

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After the concert, Gravel and the woman went to his residence where they had consensual sex. But Gravel caught the woman anally raping her, something he never consented to. He continued to sodomize the woman while she objected.

The woman was crying and faced Gravel. They talked about what happened and fell asleep together. The woman left hours later, on November 22, 2014.

The next day, she went to Montreal General Hospital to be treated for the injuries she sustained when she was raped. After speaking with someone at the hospital who was there to support victims of sexual assault, she agreed to meet with a Montreal police officer.

He also gave a recorded statement to a detective and turned over some of his clothing as part of the investigation. Gravel was arrested that same week.

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Three months after being raped, the woman was treated for depression for two days at the same hospital.

During the trial, Gravel testified in his defense, stating that he stopped having anal sex with the woman as soon as she objected. She also told the court that while she has sympathy for the victim, she still feels that she did not commit any crime.

When he testified, he said that, in his opinion, “sex is sex” and that “the word sex includes manual labor, blowjob, anal sex, oral sex.”

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