Catherine Fournier, mayor of Longueuil, reveals she was sexually assaulted by Harold Lebel
CBC
Catherine Fournier, the mayor of Longueuil and a former MNA, has revealed that she was the victim of Harold Lebel, the former Parti Québécois (PQ) MNA convicted of sexual assault.
Fournier's identity was protected by a publication ban, but the ban was lifted on Tuesday at her request.
"The reason I chose to speak out now is to share my experience," Fournier wrote in a social media post, "to let others benefit from what I have learned by helping to dispel the misconceptions of a sexual assault victim's journey through the justice system, in the hope that something positive can finally emerge from these sad events."
The assault occurred on the evening of Oct. 20, 2017, when Fournier and Lebel, both PQ MNAs at the time, were in Rimouski to present their party's anti-poverty plan.
"Imagine being sexually assaulted by someone you have to work with every day," Fournier said in court. "A respected political figure, highly regarded by everyone, who knows everyone, while you are new in an environment where you are trying to prove yourself."
At the time of the sexual assault, Fournier had been recently elected to the National Assembly, representing the riding of Marie-Victorin in Longueuil.
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