Woman accuses Liberal MNA of sexual assaults

SKLAVOUNOS DENIES

MON T R E A L • The woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by a Liberal member of the Quebec legislature says his career is not as important as what she had to endure.

Alice Paquet told RadioCanada she was assaulted twice by Gerry Sklavounos, a longtime member of the national assembly, who stepped down from the Liberal caucus Thursday to sit as an independent after the allegations surfaced.

None of the allegations have been proved. Sklavounos, who has denied the accusations, is not facing any criminal charges.

“He sexually assaulted me,” Paquet said in the Radio-Canada interview aired Thursday. “It’s his career, that’s true, and it’s a lot. But is his career worth more than what I lived through? That’s the question I asked myself, and ... no (is the answer).”

Quebec City police confirmed a complaint was filed in March. Paquet told Radio- Gerry Sklavounos Canada she wants authorities to investigate.

The Canadian Press does not generally identify alleged victims of sexual assault without their consent. In this case, Paquet has spoken publicly about her case and appeared on TV talking about it.

Paquet first went public with the allegation at a vigil Wednesday night in support of victims of alleged sex crimes at Université Laval’s student residence and on a widely distributed Facebook post that has been deleted.

She spoke at length about two alleged sexual assaults Alice Paquet, who claims she was sexually assaulted by a Liberal MNA, spoke Wednesday of the alleged crimes at a vigil for victims at Université Laval. that took place in 2014, when she was 19 and working as a hostess at a Quebec City restaurant.

During the Radio-Canada interview, Paquet said she met Sklavounos at a restaurant frequented by politicians. She agreed to have a drink with him to discuss politics before going to his room upstairs.

She doesn’t remember saying “No” to him, but at some point she no longer wanted to be with him. She told the interviewer she definitely didn’t say “Yes.”

“Up to a point I consented, I wanted to,” Paquet said. “But a kiss isn’t a contract. An embrace isn’t a contract. It’s not because we embrace that it should lead to sex.”

She wrote in the now-deleted Facebook post she ended up in the hospital and that a rape kit was completed.

Paquet told Radio-Canada she went to see Sklavounos again at his room a few weeks later and alleges she was again sexually assaulted.

The young woman said she has been marked for life by the event — both physically and psychologically.

She said she hesitated be- fore going public this week. Even recently, friends had counselled her to keep mum.

She told the crowd at the university — including several provincial politicians — that the police probe had gone nowhere. She later explained to Radio-Canada that was her choice.

“When I said the investigation failed, it’s not because the investigator didn’t try to reach me, it was me,” Paquet said.

“It was those around me. I was told, ‘ He has children. He has a wife. He’s an MNA, a former defence lawyer. He knows what to do, who to talk to.’ Me ... I’m a student ... I felt very alone even if I had the support of my friends, my family.”

She struggled with that issue even after filing a police complaint in March.

Sklavounos could not be reached Friday but he did tell Le Journal de Montreal he is “completely innocent” and ready to fight to clear his name. “I never, never, in my life, sexually assaulted anyone,” he told the newspaper.

In Quebec City, the opposition Coalition for Quebec’s Future called on the Liberals to come clean about a complaint against Sklavounos over his treatment of a Parti Québécois aide when the Liberals were in opposition in 2012-14.

Coalition member Nathalie Roy said the Liberal whip must say what was done after the complaint and anyone working at the legislature should file a complaint if they were subject to psychological or sexual harassment by Sklavounos.

In Toronto, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said he didn’t have any knowledge of the allegations against Sklavounos.

“The first time I heard anything regarding that question is last Wednesday evening, when it was mentioned that there was an incident with one of the members of the national assembly,” he said.

“The next morning it was mentioned it was a Liberal MNA, the name was known a few hours later and I immediately acted and now Mr. Sklavounos is no longer part of our caucus.”