Former QMJHL players guilty of sex assault, prison time is recommended

Rick Westhead of TSN has confirmed that former Victoriaville Tigres players Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano pleaded guilty to sexual assault on Wednesday afternoon in a Quebec City courtroom. They made the plea moments before their trial was scheduled to begin.

Daigle and Siciliano are ordered to return to court on Oct. 20 to discuss a sentencing date. They are guilty of sexually assaulted a then-17-year-old female who worked at a hotel where their Tigres were staying during the playoffs in June of 2021. Daigle also pleaded guilty to making and distributing a video of the incident as he reportedly showed videos of the assault to different witnesses. 

The crown attorney Michel Berube said in an interview with TSN after Wednesday’s hearing that he will be recommending prison time for both Daigle and Siciliano. The Canadian criminal code indicated that they could face a maximum of 10 years in prison for sexual assault.

The evidence provided in this case demonstrated that Daigle had a conversation on Instagram with the victim and she agreed to go with Daigle to his hotel room. However, once she showed up to the room, Siciliano was there and she was assaulted by both players. When she communicated with law enforcement the next day, she was covered in bruises.

Following their arrest, both players attended training camp and played pre-season games with Victoriaville, but once they were charged, the QMJHL chose to suspend both players indefinitely.

And I can’t imagine they would have a shot at another professional league with guilty plea of sex assault.

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