Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin cleared during a military examination of an allegation of sexual misconduct

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Major-General Dany Fortin will not face disciplinary action after a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) administrative review into an allegation against him found “he did not commit sexual misconduct.”

Fortin was found not guilty of sexual assault last month by a Quebec judge in a case that stemmed from a 1988 incident while he was at military college. Fortin, who has maintained his innocence, was charged with one count of sexual assault by Quebec prosecutors last year.

There was no jury in the trial, which began in September and ended in October.

Following a review of available information, including the decision of the Superior Court of Quebec in Maj.-Gen. In Dany Fortins’ criminal proceedings, it has been found that on a balance of probabilities he did not commit sexual misconduct, a CAF spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

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As such, the process did not result in any administrative action and an administrative review is not required.

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The spokesperson went on to add that the CAF recognizes that this has been a long and difficult process for everyone affected by this matter.

The military review assessed the allegation on a balance of probabilities, which is different from the threshold used in civilian courts where allegations must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fortin, the former leader of Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign, will be assigned appropriate duties based on his rank and experience, the CAF spokesperson said.

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The Army said in 2021, when Fortin was first charged on the now-acquitted sexual assault charge, that he had been temporarily reassigned to the role of senior adviser to the commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command.

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The complainant in the Fortins criminal case, who attended military college with him in 1988 in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, testified at trial that she woke up one night in her dorm room to find a man masturbating using one of his hands, while another hand was on his chest.

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She alleged at trial that Fortin was undoubtedly the assailant. In the closing statement of Crown prosecutors, Diane Legault argued that there was no reason to believe that the complainant would have forgotten or would have been mistaken about the identity of her attacker in the years following the alleged incident.

The Complainant testified that she was aware of how these complaints were handled by the CAF at the time, and that this knowledge deterred her from wanting anyone to know what happened. It was only after she retired and no longer feared the repercussions for her career that she reported the alleged incident in 2021, the prosecutor said.

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Fortins’ defense attorney, Isabel Schurman, had asked the judge for an acquittal. She said the complainant’s testimony lacked credibility and that other witnesses had failed to substantiate certain details of her story.

The defense had argued that while the plaintiff said she told her ex-boyfriend about the incident immediately afterwards, he told the court he had no recollection of the conversation.

Fortin, who was fired as head of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in May 2021 due to an investigation into the allegation, is separately challenging that firing in the Federal Court of Canada.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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