Sexual Assault Trial Concluding for Maj-Gen Dany Fortin, Ex-vaccine Campaign Head

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, right, arrives with his wife Madeleine Collin at a Gatineau, Que. courthouse on Oct. 25, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

The sexual assault trial against the former head of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign, Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, is expected to conclude today.

The Crown prosecutor argued this morning that there is no reason to believe the complainant in the case would forget or become mistaken about the identity of her aggressor in the years since 1988.

She pointed out that Fortin was able to identify names and faces with certainty when looking at military college yearbook photos during his testimony on Monday.

The prosecutor said the complainant waited to bring forward a complaint because of a “boys’ club” mentality in the military, and she had retired when she reported the event in 2021.

The woman, whose name is under a publication ban, testified last month that she woke up one night in her dorm room to find a man masturbating himself using one of her hands and she is certain it was Fortin.

Fortin’s defence lawyer asked the judge for an acquittal Monday, saying the complainant’s testimony lacked credibility and other witnesses failed to shore up her story.

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