A Shawville restaurant owner found guilty of sexual assault against a former employee was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest at a Jan. 6 hearing at the Gatineau provincial courthouse.
The man was found guilty in October for repeated assaults occurring during the female employee’s time working at his restaurant, Lello’s Pizza & Shawarma. There is a strict ban preventing the publication of any identifying information about the victim, who was a minor at the time of the incidents.
In court documents from testimony heard in Jan. 2023, the victim stated that the Lello’s owner, on separate occasions, grabbed her hips, rubbed his pelvis against her backside, slapped her behind, massaged her, and placed a debit machine inside her back pocket while working her shift.
At the Jan. 6 sentencing hearing, crown prosecutor Simon Pelletier read an impact statement prepared by the victim. It listed lasting impacts of the crime, which included anxiety going to work, anxiety being around men, migraines, stomach sickness, and loss of wages due to leaving the job.
Judge Isabelle Michaud agreed with the sentence presented by the defence and the prosecution – an 18-month conditional imprisonment sentence, commonly known as house arrest.
Section 742.1 of Canada’s Criminal Code states that if a person is convicted of an offence for which the sentence of imprisonment is less than two years, the court may order that the offender serve the sentence in the community if they are not considered to endanger the safety of the community.
The convicted will spend the duration of his sentence confined to his residence, with exceptions for work, medical, religious or other reasons that must be pre-approved with his supervisor in writing. He will be permitted to continue working at and operating his restaurant.
He will also have a sample of his DNA taken by the Sûreté du Québec, will be prohibited from possessing firearms, and will have his name listed on a sexual assault registry for a period of 20 years.
According to Michaud, the crime could have warranted a harsher sentence but several mitigating factors lower the risk of the Lello’s owner re-offending, such as a lack of a prior criminal record, having his family’s support and being a working and contributing member of society. She said the sum of these factors make him a good candidate to serve his sentence in the community.
Crown prosecutor Pelletier said the convicted does not represent a risk to the public’s safety, adding that he has had no crimes reported in the meantime since the incidents occurred.
When THE EQUITY approached the Lello’s owner after his trial at the Gatineau courthouse, defence lawyer Dominik Robinson said his client would not comment on the decision. He is expected to continue with an appeal of the decision.
Victims of crimes, as well as family members and witnesses, can access a multitude of services through the Crime Victim Assistance Centre (CAVAC), which has an office in Campbell’s Bay. Services range from short-term counselling to advice on how the courts operate. The Campbell’s Bay office can be reached at 1-877-648-2764, or the CAVAC’s general line is at 1-866-LECAVAC (532-2822).
