Protests after Crown declines to lay charges in alleged abuse of native women
VAL D’OR, Que. — Citizens protested in the streets of Val d’Or on Friday after Crown prosecutors confirmed none of the six provincial police officers accused of abusing native women in the northwestern Quebec town would be charged.
Recognizing the kind of anger and frustration their decision would trigger in the community, prosecutors told reporters that despite no charges being laid, it didn’t mean the accusers weren’t telling the truth.
“We have to be clear,” said Mathieu Locas, with Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office, told a news conference Friday. “The fact that charges are not being laid doesn’t mean the event didn’t take place. The burden of proof on the Crown is very high and we have to show that these suspects are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“And in the cases that we received,” Locas continued, “unfortunately we don’t have enough evidence to show that.”