Montreal resident Moomen Rhouma avoided deportation to Tunisia when he received a conditional discharge for sex crimes he committed in the Montreal subway system. .“Mr. (Bojan) Prosenski's letter essentially indicates if Mr. Rhouma is convicted, he risks being ‘declared inadmissible and subject to a removal order by deportation without investigation before the Division of the Immigration,’” said Court of Quebec Justice Suzanne Costom in a ruling. .“A discharge would not have the same consequences.”.Rhouma pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault, one count of criminal harassment, and one count of assault committed in 2021 to four different victims. Each offence consisted of sexually touching a woman in a subway station. .The Crown attorney sought a sentence of imprisonment for six months, while the defence proposed a conditional discharge. .The ruling said Rhouma’s first victim, CP, was walking down the escalator at Villa-Maria Station when she noticed he was watching her, which made her feel bad. It said as CP was going up the escalator a few minutes later after renewing her subway card, he brushed her left shoulder and touched her left buttock. .He asked her if she liked what he did to her and if she would like him to do it again. CP swore at him and told him to never do that again. .The second victim, EG, was sitting on a bench at Frontenac Station, waiting for the subway to arrive. Rhouma approached EG, putting his hand on her knee and asked if he could borrow her cellphone. .At the same time, he rubbed his thigh. She said no and he stopped. .The third victim, MAC, was on the escalator at Snowdon Station when he approached her. He stroked MAC’s thigh and touched her buttocks. .He gave her two arm strokes, and she started yelling at him and hurling insults. He turned away and left. .The fourth victim, RB, was descending the escalator at Jean-Talon Station when Rhouma touched her left buttock. After getting into the car, she noticed him sitting near her. .RB told him she was going to call the police, and he said she should do so. She called a subway driver, and he left. .His crimes were prosecuted as summary offences. There is no minimum penalty, and the maximum penalty for each offence is two years in jail. .The ruling said the aggravating factors were the number of victims, his persistence towards two of them, how they took place in the subway, the offences were premeditated, and the significant consequences for them. It added the mitigating factors were the apologies offered to the victims and the guilty plea early in the process. .Costom called his crimes “serious and cannot be tolerated.” She said his incriminating behaviour is at the low end of the sexual assault severity scale. .Rhouma has no prior convictions or pending cases. He committed his crimes during a difficult time in his life. .Various reports presented during the sentencing hearing showed he has empathy for his victims, understands his behaviour was inappropriate, and has made positive changes. The ruling said the appropriate sentence in this case must emphasize denunciation and deterrence. .The judge went on to say a conditional sentence with a long period of probation and strict conditions will “strike the right balance between denunciation and deterrence and social reintegration.” She said the sentence considers the possibility of sanctions less onerous than being deprived of liberty..The ruling said a discharge is in Rhouma’s best interests. If convicted, it said there's a real risk he would be expelled from Canada with no appeal. .Some of his probation conditions include not disturbing public order and having good conduct, responding to court summonses, and not communicating with or meeting with any of his victims. His name will be put in the Sex Offender Information Registration Act for 10 years. .He needs to provide a body sample for DNA analysis. He will be prevented from possessing any weapons for 10 years. .“For all these reasons, in the particular circumstances of this case, the tribunal is satisfied granting a discharge would not be contrary to the public interest,” said Costom. .A Canadian government proposal which was being examined in April would have automatically cancelled the immigration permits and papers of foreigners convicted of crimes. .READ MORE: Proposal could see convicted foreigners’ immigration permits automatically voided.“The Canada Border Services Agency complained employees must spend an average of half-an-hour manually voiding the permit of every person named in a deportation order,” said a regulatory impact analysis statement. .More than 30,000 removal orders were issued against the holders of immigration documents. The majority of removal orders were issued against refugee claimants.
