Montreal-area Liberal MNA leaves caucus over sexual assault allegation

A Montreal-areaLiberal member of Quebec'sNational Assembly has resigned from caucus following an allegationof sexual assault, sources tell Radio-Canada.

GerrySklavounos, thedeputy house leader underPremierPhilippe Couillard, hasbeen serving as the member of the National Assemblyfor Laurier-Dorion since 2007.

In a statement,Couillardconfirmed Thursday evening thatSklavounoshad been asked to leave caucus.

Couillardand other members of the Liberal caucus declined to answer any questions about the allegationat an event in Toronto.

Sklavounos's departure from caucusfollowsan allegation madea day earlier.

Alice Paquet made the claim while speaking publicly Wednesday at avigil at Laval Universityin Quebec Cityto denounce a series of recentalleged assaults in one of the university's dorms.

• AlicePaquet, who says she was sexually assaulted by Liberal MNA, speaks out

Alice Paquet speaks out at Laval University vigil

8 years ago

Duration 1:15

Alice Paquet says she was sexually assaulted by a Quebec Liberal MNA when she was working as a restaurant hostess in Quebec City in 2014.

Paquet said the assault by a member of the legislature happened in 2014, while she was working as a restaurant hostess.She did not name the attacker.

Her allegationhasnot been proven and no charges have been laid.Sklavounosdid not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In aFacebookpost writtenafter the vigil,Paquetallegedthat the politician blackmailed her and told her not to tell anyone because no one would believe her.

I was scared, and at every moment during a sexual encounter, a person must feel totally at ease.-Alice Paquet

She said she ended up filing a complaint with police a year later and thatshe was asked if she knew what she was getting into and whether she was sure she said no.

"No, I'm not sure I said no. But without saying yes, it's no. I was scared, and at every moment during a sexual encounter, a person must feel totally at ease," she said.

She said she was hurt both physically and psychologically, harm she believes she'll have to deal with for life.

The Facebookpost has since been deleted.

Sklavounos, 41, practised criminal law as a legal aid lawyer and as a private practice attorney before entering politics.He was first elected in 2007 and has been re-elected three times.

Since leaving the Liberal caucus he willnow sit as an Independent.

Sklavounos is married with two children.

• Who is Gerry Sklavounos, MNA facing assault allegations?

Police confirm complaint filed

Quebec City police confirmed they receiveda complaint in March 2016 regarding the same allegations made at the vigil.

"We received a complaint in the spring. The investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests in this file," saidspokesmantienneDoyon.

A friend of Paquet,RosalieGenest, said in an interview the alleged assault has been difficult to live with.

"She's doing better," she told CBC News."She's getting a lot of support so we're all with her."

'Crucially important': Couillard

BeforeSklavounos was publicly identified,Couillardtold reportersthe allegations wouldbe treated with the highest priority and that he would have his office and party whip conduct an investigation.

"This is a very delicate question,'' Couillard said.

"I'm not the police, I'm not a judge, I'm not even a lawyer, but I just want to tell Quebecers that to me this is significant, not only significant, but crucially important for our society.''

New Parti Qubcois Leader Jean-FranoisLisesaid there should betwo investigations, one into the allegation itself and the other into a possible "coverup"involvingtheCouillardgovernment.

Nathalie Roy, a member of the Coalition Avenir Qubec, was in the crowd Wednesday night when the young woman spoke.

"My heart stopped when I heard her say this person sits in the National Assembly,'' Roy said.

"If a police officer tells you, 'It's not worth it, he's stronger than you' what she was saying yesterday that's unacceptable.''

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