Quebec police probe alleged sex assault in Cuba after reports naming discharged man
Global News
Police in Quebec would not confirm any suspects in the investigation, which follows allegations made to Quebec media that named Simon Houle.
Police in Quebec say they are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a Quebec woman that took place in Cuba.
But they are not saying if the suspect is a man named Monday in media reports as Simon Houle, who was recently granted a controversial conditional discharge for sexual assault after pleading guilty in a separate 2019 case.
On Monday, both Radio-Canada and Le Journal de Montreal published reports citing a woman named Vickie Vachon, who alleged to the outlets that she had been assaulted by Houle days after he was granted the discharge.
Global News has not independently verified those reports and Houle’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment sent on Monday morning. In that request for comment, Global News asked if Houle had been in Cuba and whether he has been notified of the investigation underway.
In response to a question from Global News, Quebec police confirmed an investigation into an alleged sexual assault of a Quebec woman while in Cuba.
“I cannot confirm the identity of the suspect because we are at the beginning of the investigation,” a spokesperson for La Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes said in French in an email.
“We have to meet with the victim to get her version and then proceed with the identification following procedures that can be upheld in court.”
In the reports, Radio-Canada and Le Journal de Montreal cited Vachon as saying that she had been at a resort in Cayo Coco, Cuba, when she alleged Houle groped her.