Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon leaves the courthouse in Montreal, on Dec. 15, 2020.Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
The Crown says it won’t appeal the acquittals in the cases of Quebec media stars Gilbert Rozon and Eric Salvail.
A spokeswoman for the director of criminal and penal prosecutions made the announcements in a series of tweets and says the decision in the Rozon case is based on an assessment of the evidence and the fact that an appeal cannot be made on a question of fact.
The 66-year-old Mr. Rozon, founder of the Just for Laughs festival, had been accused of rape and indecent assault in charges dating back 40 years, but was acquitted on Dec. 15 by Quebec court Judge Melanie Hebert.
In her decision, Justice Hebert wrote that acquittal didn’t mean the alleged incidents didn’t occur or that the victim was not credible but that the case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the Salvail case, spokeswoman Audrey Roy-Cloutier said the department carried out an exhaustive analysis of the decision and, given that the verdict hinged on witness credibility and prosecutors found no error of law, there would not be an appeal.
The former television personality was acquitted on Dec. 18 on charges of sexual assault, forcible confinement and criminal harassment related to an alleged incident in 1993.
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