Former MNA member Harold LeBell testifies in sexual assault trial

tomtidgewellNovember 10, 2022

Former National Assembly member Harold Lebel, who has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman who was a guest at his home, will testify in his defense at his trial.

Defense attorney Maxime Roy made the announcement to the Rimouski jury on Thursday morning.

“We intend to present our defense, and that defense will be Mr. LeBel’s testimony,” Roy told the jury.

Superior Court Judge Serge Francour sent jurors home without hearing any new evidence on Thursday.

Only two witnesses were charged. The plaintiff, three years after he was accused of sexual assault, took pictures of LeBel’s condominium in Rimouski in December 2020. He is an investigator from Sûreté du Québec.

The photo was taken to corroborate a statement made by a woman to SQ describing LeBel’s condo.

Petitioner alleges that while she was staying at LeBel’s home in October 2017, he groped her on a bed set up in the living room and tried to force his finger into her anus. She said this happened after refusing his advances, including putting his hand on her thigh and kissing her mouth.

When she testified on Tuesday and Wednesday, the woman said she was particularly upset when Lebel became aggressive when she tried to force her way into the bathroom as she prepared to shower.

Up until that point, she told jurors that she had previously viewed Rubel as a friend who had shown no signs of being attracted to her.

Lebel was a Parti Québécois MNA in 2017. After being indicted, he sat as an independent and did not run in the latest Quebec elections on October 3.

The former politician is scheduled to testify on Monday.

pcherry@postmedia.com