Judge: Teen Maybe 'Flattered' by Cabbie Who Assaulted Her

Jean-Paul Braun also labeled 17-year-old victim 'a little overweight' but with a 'pretty face'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2017 7:20 AM CDT
Judge: Teen Maybe 'Flattered' by Cabbie Who Assaulted Her
The judge noted the teen had a "voluptuous" figure in his ruling.   (Getty Images/typhoonski)

Taxi driver Carlo Figaro was found guilty of sexual assault in a Quebec court earlier this year, but not before the judge in his case made some questionable comments about the 17-year-old victim. The BBC reports a complaint has been filed by a provincial minister against Judge Jean-Paul Braun. Per the CBC, the teen victim had testified the 49-year-old Figaro had assaulted her while she was his passenger in 2015, stopping the cab near her home and proceeding to touch her body through her clothes, unbutton her shirt, and lick her face. "You could say she's a little overweight, but she has a pretty face, huh?" Braun said during the May proceedings, per a recording heard by the French-language Journal de Montreal.

Braun also reportedly said she may have been a "little flattered by Figaro's attentions—he noted Figaro "looks good," is well-mannered, and wears brand-name cologne—and mused on the different levels of consent required for kissing versus grabbing someone's buttocks. However, Braun conceded that even if the teen, who he stated in his ruling had a "voluptuous" figure, had initially been flirty, she'd also shown she didn't offer consent for Figaro to do much of what he did. Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee filed a complaint against Braun to the local magistrates council and told reporters Wednesday his comments were "unacceptable." Figaro, who denies sexual contact happened, is appealing. His sentencing date is in November, per the Toronto Star. (More Canada stories.)

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