Former Quebec Junior Hockey Players to Appeal Sentences for Sex Assault
Two former Quebec junior hockey players are planning to appeal their prison sentences for sexually assaulting a minor at a hotel in June 2021 while celebrating a Victoriaville Tigres championship win.
Quebec court Judge Thomas Jacques sentenced Nicolas Daigle to 32 months in jail and Massimo Siciliano to 30 months on July 8.
A lawyer representing Mr. Siciliano, 21, has filed a motion seeking a suspended sentence and bail while awaiting a decision.
A lawyer for Mr. Daigle, also 21, has filed a similar appeal on his behalf.
Both appeals are set to be heard before the high court on Thursday in the provincial capital.
At the time of the assault, both men were members of the Victoriaville team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and the incident occurred during a celebration on June 5, 2021, after winning the championship trophy.
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The victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, worked at the Quebec City-area hotel where the team was staying during the 2021 playoffs. She had befriended Mr. Daigle while he and his teammates were living at the hotel for about a month leading up to their victory.
Initially, she declined an invitation to join their party and refused Mr. Daigle’s request to join him in his room due to hotel policy. However, later that night, Mr. Daigle persuaded her to return to the hotel after she finished work.
Upon arrival at the room, she found Mr. Siciliano, whom she did not know, present. She felt trapped and was assaulted by both men, sometimes simultaneously, for approximately 40 minutes.
During the assault, Mr. Daigle filmed the woman without her consent.
Both men pleaded guilty in October before the trial.
