Former TV host Salvail charged with sex assault
Éric Salvail, a former television host who was very popular among francophone viewers in Quebec, was named in a warrant Tuesday alleging he sexually assaulted a person more than two decades ago.
The warrant was made public by the provincial prosecutor’s bureau Tuesday. It is the type of warrant where the accused is not immediately arrested, but is assigned a court date. He must appear, or be represented by an attorney. The warrant alleges that between April and November 1993, Salvail sexually assaulted, forcibly confined and harassed the same victim.
The victim is only identified by their initials on the charge sheet.
According to a spokesperson for the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales, Salvail was released on a promise to appear at the Montreal courthouse on Feb. 15.
Salvail, 48, was one of Quebec’s most popular TV and radio hosts before allegations of sexual misconduct began to surface in late 2017.
In October 2017, a report by La Presse quoted 11 people who claimed they were sexually harassed by Salvail between 2000 and 2015. Backlash from the report caused Radio-Canada, Bell Media, Groupe V Média and other outlets to sever ties with the host.
Responding to La Presse’s report, he took to his Facebook account and wrote that he “never meant to hurt anyone.”
He said he had “enormous empathy for anyone for whom I may have caused discomfort of any kind.” He has since deleted the post and made his social media accounts private.