The Supreme Court denies Jasmin Roy the right to anonymity in the case against him a man who placed him on the online list “Say his name”. “Disappointed” by the decision, the actor and host said in an interview that he had been the victim “for three years” of a campaign of harassment by someone he did not “know”.
This is the first time that Jasmin Roy has spoken in this case, after trying to remain anonymous before the Supreme Court in 2021, the Court of Appeal in 2022, then finally the Supreme Court, in the event of a libel case. They all denied it, but a publication ban remained in place throughout the process, which concluded today.
“I wanted anonymity because I wanted peace of mind when I did what I had to do. It takes my peace of mind because it’s becoming a media circus,” explains Jasmin Roy on the phone. “It’s very painful for me.”
At the root of this “circus” are the allegations of a man named Jean-François Robillard, who accused Mr. Roy of sexual abuse on Facebook. Soon after, her name appeared on the Dis son nom list, after which they were put into action by Jasmin Roy and her foundation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais. His name disappeared and then reappeared before being deleted again in 2021.
Now that his identity has come to light, it is Jasmin Roy who accuses Mr. Robillard of “harassment” and “threats” against him and against one of the employees of his foundation.
“He knew where I lived, he knew where my employee stayed. I sold my condominium because of it,” he says.
“I have proof. I have videos of him repeatedly trying to enter my building. I have a letter written by him pretending to be reporters from Le Devoir. I have all that.”
Mr. Robillard filed a complaint with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). She was rejected.
Mr. Roy also says that he lodged a complaint with the SPVM in 2011.
“The investigator, when she called me, she said to me, ‘he’s someone we already know, this Mr. Robillard, it’s not the first time we’re going to have to look at the eye,'” he said.
This “evidence” would have been submitted during the appeal phase but would not have been taken into account in the judges’ decision, argues Jasmin Roy.
In the decision handed down on 31 August 2022 by the Court of Appeal, Judge Sophie Lavallée denied anonymity to Jasmin Roy because “the information [Jasmin Roy] seek to protect are not particularly sensitive”.
“His privacy may certainly be disturbed, but he has not demonstrated that the relevant interest in privacy vis-à-vis the dignity of the person would be seriously threatened in this case,” she says.
Jasmin Roy, who until now has been identified in the media as a “public figure” in connection with this affair, says that he fears the impact of the outbreak of this affair on the activities of his foundation.
For their part, Jean-François Robillard’s lawyers and the administrators of Say his name said they were “satisfied”.
“It ends a debate that has always existed about whether people prosecuted for sexual assault have the right to anonymity,” one of the defense lawyers in the case, Justin Wee, said by phone.
For now, Jasmin Roy wants to “let the storm pass” before evaluating his options with his lawyers.
“Of course I’m scared, but I have nothing to blame myself for, so I will fight,” Jasmin Roy said.
