Rozon reserves right to choose judge or jury for his rape trial
Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon did not enter a plea to the criminal charges he faces as his case at the Montreal courthouse began on Tuesday.
Rozon, 64, was not required to be present for the first date in the trial, in which he is charged with rape and indecent assault. Émilie Gagnon, the lawyer who represented Rozon for the hearing, asked that her client be allowed to reserve the right to choose whether he wants a trial before a judge or a jury. She also asked that the charge not be read into the court record, which leaves the option open to Rozon to enter a plea at a later date.
Quebec Court Judge Alexandre Dalmau agreed with a request from prosecutor Bruno Ménard that a publication ban be placed on any details that would go toward identifying the alleged victim in the case. Rozon is alleged to have sexually abused the person between June and September 1979 in St-Sauveur, a town in the Laurentians about 60 kilometres north of Montreal.
“He decided to hold back on his choice on what type of trial, be it before a jury or a judge alone. It was a right he had. We also turned over the evidence to his lawyer. That will allow the defence to study the documents and to take a stance in the case,” Ménard later told reporters, while adding that Rozon won’t be required to enter a plea until he decides on an option for a trial.
In December, Ménard spent time over the course of at least two days to meet with several other women, including television host and producer Julie Snyder, to inform them that no criminal charges would be filed related to complaints they made alleging that Rozon sexually abused them. The Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales issued a statement that it had “examined and analyzed the entirety of the evidence in 14 requests to file charges,” but decided to only proceed with one.
The case will return to court March 8 and Rozon is not required to be in court for that hearing, either. Gagnon represented Rozon Tuesday in place of defence lawyer Pierre Poupart, who is defending another client in a murder trial.