Justice minister denounces judge's comments on teen sexual assault victim's weight

Quebec's justice minister says comments made by aQuebec court judge abouta teenage victim assaulted by her taxi driver are unacceptable, after it came to light that the judge had commented on the girl's weight and suggestedshe enjoyed getting attention from a handsome older man.

In May, Judge Jean-Paul Braun found taxi driver CarloFigaro guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-oldpassenger in 2015.

During the trial,Braun commented on the victim's appearance, saying she was "a bit overweight, but she has a pretty face."

When asked about Braun's comments Wednesday morning, Justice Minister Stphanie Valletold reporters they were"unacceptable" and thatshe would be filing a complaint with Quebec's magistrates council.

A spokesperson for that body, which hears complaints against judges, said for now it willnot be commenting on Braun's remarks.

A spokesperson for the Quebec court also declined to comment, referringquestions back to themagistrates council.

According to the victim's version of events, outlined in the judgment, on the night of the assault,Figarostopped the car not far from her house andlicked her face. She pushed him away and tried to get out, but in the meantime hetouched her breasts and genitals over her clothing and unbuttoned her shirt.

Figarodenied that any sexual contact occurred, but said the victim rubbed the back of his head while she was in the car.

Figaro,now 49, has yet to be sentenced.

His next court date is in November.The defence has appealed his conviction.

'Not the same consent'

Audio recordings of the court proceedings show thatBraunalso wentback and forth with Crown prosecutorAmlieRivard, suggesting there are degrees of consent and questioning exactly whichactions required Figaro to get the victim's consent.

The judge said it is not the same to consent to kiss someone and to "mettre la main au panier," a French expression that usually refers to touching someone's rear end.

Rivardreplied that she hadn't come across thatdistinction in the jurisprudence.

Braun also highlighted the girl's strictreligious upbringingand suggestedshe enjoyed getting the attention from a man who "looks good" and that she had even flirted with him.

Rivard said the girl was simply being politeand that even if she were flirting, itdidn'tmean that constituted consent.

Braun alsocommented in his written decision on the appearance of the 49-year-old taxi driver.

"He looks good and doesn't seem his age," the judge stated.

"We can see from his testimonythat he has nice manners and that he likes to wear cologne:withVersacewhen he goes out, and with other less-expensivecolognes during the week."

Figarodenied ever noticing the 17-year-oldin the past, even though he stopped at the coffee shop where she worked regularly.

The judge, in his ruling, stated that he finds that hard to believe, "taking into consideration the [victim's] figure, which is quite voluptuous; the court specifies that she is a pretty young girl."

Despite his line of questioning regarding the girl's role in the assault, Braun found Figaroguilty.

In his decision, Braun said that while the victim perhaps didn't make it clear that she didn't want to be kissed, through her body language and words, she did make it clear that she didn't consent to what happened after that.

'Completely unacceptable'

CALACS West Island, a support group for survivors of sexual assault, saidthe comments were disturbing.

"He gave messages that were reprehensible giving her the message that even though she was sexually assaulted, maybe in some way, she was flattered by these comments," Caroline Deslauriers, a counsellorwith CALACS, told CBC News.

"These comments are completely unacceptable. They're unacceptable from anybody, but especially coming from a judge."