[Niamh.]

What a complete ****, he should lose his job for that imo

The Canadian judge also made comments about the 17-year-old girl’s appearance and complimented her attacker

A judge in a sexual-assault case has been criticised for suggesting that the 17-year-old survivor should be “flattered” by the attention, making several statements that demonstrate the persistence of rape myths in the judicial system.

A complaint is being filed by Quebec’s justice minister against Judge Jean-Paul Braun who made the “unacceptable” remarks in May, during the trial of a taxi driver accused of kissing and groping his passenger without consent.

Forty-nine-year-old Carlo Figaro was ultimately found guilty of forcibly licking the girl’s face and groping her breasts and genitals before she managed to escape from his car, which he had parked near her house.

But, in the course of his trial, Judge Braun told the courtroom, "You could say she's a little overweight, but she has a pretty face, huh?” and suggested that she might have enjoyed the attention because "it was perhaps the first time that he was interested in her”.

Judge Braun argued that there are different levels of consent required for a kiss and for touching someone intimately, reportedly stating: “It's not the same consent to kiss someone and consent to [grab somebody's butt]... I conclude that he tried to kiss her, that can be an acceptable gesture.”

He also complimented the accused perpetrator. According to CBC News, the judge said: “He looks good and doesn't seem his age… We can see from his testimony… that he has nice manners and that he likes to wear cologne – with Versace when he goes out, and with other less-expensive colognes during the week.”

These comments are completely unacceptable. They're unacceptable from anybody, but especially coming from a judge
A support group for sexual-assault survivors, West Island CALACS, condemned the comments: "[The judge] 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. These comments are completely unacceptable. They're unacceptable from anybody, but especially coming from a judge."

Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time Judge Braun has made offensive comments and perpetuated rape culture. In 2013, he described the case of a telecom technician verbally abusing and groping a 19-year-old woman as “not the crime of the century” and it is the latest in a line of incidents whereby male Canadian judges have failed to display appropriate conduct while presiding over sexual-assault cases.

In 2014, Robin Camp, who has since resigned, asked an alleged rape victim why she was unable to “just keep your knees together”.

The head of the Quebec Bar Association has called the latest case “deplorable” and the Senate is considering a bill that would require judges to undergo sexual-assault law training, a move which was introduced in Ontario in May of this year.

Figaro is yet to be sentenced and has appealed his conviction.

https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/...d-be-flattered