Lawyer for fallen Quebec media star continues cross-examination of accuser

MONTREAL — The man who alleges he was sexually assaulted by former Quebec media star Eric Salvail was grilled under cross-examination Tuesday, accused of lying in an effort to attract attention.

On the second day of Salvail’s trial on charges of sexual assault, harassment and unlawful confinement, his lawyer, Michel Massicotte was unrelenting as he sought to poke holes in the story of the alleged victim, Donald Duguay.

Massicotte invoked Duguay’s media appearances and his creation of an internet site devoted to victims of sexual assault.

“Is it not correct to say that through all this, what you were seeking and are still seeking, is attention?” the lawyer asked, to which Duguay, 47, replied no. “And is it not correct that to obtain this attention, you are ready to lie and to say falsehoods?”

Duguay, who has had the standard publication ban on the identity of alleged victims in sexual assault cases waived, calmly denied the accusation.

On Monday Duguay told the court he and Salvail, now 50, both worked in the mailroom at Radio-Canada when he first experienced unwanted advances from Salvail in 1993.

He testified that from their first meeting, Salvail made inappropriate comments and tried to seduce him. He said he was “outraged” and asked Salvail to stop, but he said in the next days Salvail persisted, grabbing his buttocks a few times and inviting him for “a little quickie.”

The court heard that the two men were no longer working in the same department by Halloween 1993 when Salvail followed Duguay into a washroom, dropped his pants to expose himself and rubbed himself against Duguay’s buttocks. He testified that Salvail grabbed him and held him against his will, and it was only when he threatened to scream and report Salvail that he loosened his grip, and Duguay was able to flee.

Massicotte questioned Duguay’s account, wondering why he would not have properly defended himself against Salvail when he was vulnerable with his pants lowered, and why Duguay had not fled earlier when he had the chance.

Massicotte also raised several instances when Duguay’s testimony differed from previous statements he had made in declarations to police and during the preliminary hearing last fall.

He pointed to Duguay’s description of the bathroom at the Radio-Canada building in Montreal where the assault is alleged to have taken place and the precise actions of the two men during the washroom altercation.

Duguay has testified that he suffers from post-traumatic stress, and different scenes were reconstructed with the aide of a psychiatrist or psychologist, meaning these details only fell into place later on.

Salvail, who has pleaded not guilty and opted for trial by judge alone, was one of Quebec’s most popular entertainers until he departed show business in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct were published by Montreal’s La Presse.

He had his own TV production company, hosted a popular talk show on Groupe V Media and was a fixture on afternoon radio in the province.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2020.

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press