The trial for rape and indecent assault of the former Quebec producer Gilbert Rozon, deposed leader of the group "Just for laughs" and ex-juror of the show "France has an incredible talent", opened on Tuesday October 13 at the Montreal courthouse.
Postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the trial is due to last the whole week.
Gilbert Rozon, 65, was indicted in December 2018 for acts which allegedly occurred in 1980 involving a victim, whose identity has not been revealed.
The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP, prosecutor's office) of Quebec had not laid charges for thirteen other victim files.
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The alleged victim was 20 years old and worked at a radio station at the time of the alleged crime.
She and Gilbert Rozon knew each other.
According to her, the facts occurred after a night at a nightclub where Gilbert Rozon had invited her.
Before bringing her back to her parents, she assures us that the latter pretended to have to retrieve documents from her secretary's house, where the facts allegedly took place.
"He threw himself on me,"
the complainant testified on Tuesday, explaining that the accused tried to kiss her before raping her a few hours later, according to the TVA channel.
Gilbert Rozon, who denies all the facts, has pleaded not guilty and has indicated that he intends to testify.
The trial takes place before a judge alone, without a jury.
The founder of the group "Just for Laughs" had been splashed by accusations of sexual assault in October 2017, which forced him to leave his position in full movement #MeToo.
Read also: Gilbert Rozon's show disappears from the programming of his theater in Paris
"We've been waiting for this moment for a very long time and I won't hide from you that we're a little anxious about the outcome of this trial, but at the same time, that's what we wanted, we have to 'he be brought to justice,'
Quebec actress Patricia Tulasne, spokesperson for 'Courageuses', told reporters.
According to this collective which brings together women presumed victims of the former producer, the latter would have made
"at least twenty victims over a period of 34 years, from 1982 to 2016"
, which Gilbert Rozon firmly refutes.
"Les Courageuses" had brought a class action seeking a conviction against Gilbert Rozon for damages, which was dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal in January.
Three years ago, the impact of this affair, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal in the United States and the #MeToo movement, led the French television channels M6 and C8 to deprogram shows with which Gilbert Rozon was associated.
The Quebec group “Just for Laughs”, in crisis following these accusations, was taken over in March 2018 by the Californian talent agency ICM Partners and the Canadian actor Howie Mandel.
