Sexual Assault Trial Resumes for Military Officer Who Led COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

Sexual Assault Trial Resumes for Military Officer Who Led COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin speaks to reporters outside the Gatineau Police Station after being processed, in Gatineau, Que., Aug. 18, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)
The Canadian Press
10/24/2022
Updated:
10/24/2022
0:00
The sexual assault trial against Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin is set to resume for a third day in a Gatineau courtroom this morning.
Fortin took to the stand in September and denied any guilt in the case, saying that he never had physical contact with a woman who had made detailed allegations against him in court.
A woman whose identity is protected under a publication ban told the judge presiding over the case that she is “without a doubt” that she recognized Fortin as the person who attacked her one night in 1988.
The complainant said she woke up in her dorm room at the military college in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., to find Fortin masturbating himself with one of her hands.

Fortin’s defence lawyer said that she would vigorously contest the complainant’s identification of Fortin.

He was the military officer in charge of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign until his removal in May 2021 over an investigation of the allegation, which he is also challenging in Federal Court.