NO MEDALS, NO GLORY
Franck Gervais wore a uniform on national TV
Franck Gervais arrives at the Ottawa courthouse Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to unlawfully wearing a military uniform after getting caught on Remembrance Day in fake soldier’s regalia.
A man who posed as a decorated sergeant on national television last Remembrance Day shied away this time from the spotlight after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to unlawfully wearing a military uniform and medals.
Franck Gervais, the 33-year-old who told CBC on Remembrance Day that it was important to remember the people who fought for this country’s freedom, wasn’t as eager to speak to the media as his lawyer, Claude Levesque, ushered him from the Elgin Street courthouse into a waiting vehicle.
Gervais, who in November wore a bogus uniform of a Royal Canadian Regiment sergeant, stared straight ahead Wednesday as he mumbled “guilty” to the two charges before he left the courtroom and covered his face with his jacket.
Two other charges of impersonating a peace officer will be withdrawn at his May 11 court appearance. His wife, Chantal, was not in court for the plea.
Outside court, Levesque said Gervais meant no disrespect to the military.
“My client does feel remorse and apologizes for his actions,” Levesque said.
According to an agreed statement of facts, a reporter approached Gervais for an interview at the National War Memorial on Remembrance Day.
He was in a Canadian Armed Forces dress uniform and wore a Medal of Bravery, a Special Service Medal, a Canadian Peacekeeping Medal, a NATO medal for Kosovo and a Canadian Forces decoration for 12 years of service, court heard.
Gervais identified himself to the reporter as a sergeant and the interview was broadcast on national television a few minutes later.
"(The reporter) told him it would occur within the next few minutes, giving Gervais the opportunity to change his mind,” according to the facts read by Mark Moors, an assistant Crown attorney.
Members of the military quickly noticed problems with his attire and the medals he was wearing, eventually prompting the criminal charges against Gervais, who lives in Cantley, Que., north of Ottawa.
Warrant Officer Michael Womack told the Citizen in November that something didn’t seem right about Gervais in the interview he watched in Wainwright, Alta., as he prepared for his unit’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
The police investigation revealed that Gervais had never been employed by the military, although he had been a cadet for several years in the 1990s.
Police also discovered Gervais was still in uniform after the ceremony when he and his wife went to the Canadian War Museum to hear author Rod McLeod promote his book called Vigil.
McLeod and a reservist chatted with Gervais for about 20 minutes about the fake soldier’s make-believe struggles in the Royal Canadian Regiment due to “language barriers,” court heard. He also shared stories about being a paratrooper and how he earned the Medal of Bravery.
“All of these stories are untrue,” the agreed statement of facts said
Levesque and Moors will present their submissions on sentencing May 11.