A former junior hockey player from Quebec who was previously convicted of sexual assault will undergo a new trial, as ruled by Quebec’s Court of Appeal. Noah Corson, who played for the Drummondville Voltigeurs and is the son of former Montreal Canadiens center Shayne Corson, had been sentenced to less than two years in prison for assaulting a minor under 16 years old.
The case revolves around an incident in 2016 when Corson, then 18, engaged with a 15-year-old girl, whose identity is protected by a publication ban. The Court of Appeal determined that Quebec court Judge Paul Dunnigan had misinterpreted a crucial piece of evidence favoring Corson’s defense.
Corson contested his 2024 guilty verdict, alleging that the judge had inaccurately analyzed the evidence. In the original trial, both the prosecution and defense acknowledged Corson’s involvement in a group sexual activity with two other hockey players at the complainant’s residence. The central debate focused on whether the victim had consented to the activity and if Corson had verified her age.
Despite Corson’s claim that he believed the victim was at least 18 years old, the Crown argued that he had been negligent or deliberately ignorant. Judge Dunnigan’s 2024 ruling stated that Corson had not taken adequate steps to confirm the complainant’s age, thereby rendering the issue of consent irrelevant.
In his appeal, Corson asserted that the judge had overlooked his belief that the girl resided in a student apartment with a friend when he visited her. The Court of Appeal concluded that the judge’s handling of the age-related defense was flawed.
Crown prosecutor Marc-André Roy expressed a desire to review the Court of Appeal’s decision and speak with the complainant before providing further comments.