An Ottawa woman says her experience trying to report a sexual assault that happened in another province led to a “complicated” back-and-forth between police forces that has forced her to reconsider whether to go ahead wants to come
Kiara Dean said a news story that appeared in October about arrests in a decade-old murder and sexual assault in Quebec prompted her to contact police about a traumatic incident in her past, which she was never reported.
The article describes the arrest Marc-Andre Grenonwho has been charged with the 2000 murder and sexual assault of a junior college student in Jonquière, Que., as well as a separate attempted murder and sexual assault in Quebec City that same year.
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Provincial police said in the article that Grennan, 47, may have committed more attacks, and encouraged anyone with information to send a confidential tip to their criminal information unit via a toll-free number. Police also released photographs of the suspect over the years so that other potential victims could identify him.
Dean said that while she could not say for sure, the events described bore similarities to a violent sexual assault that occurred in Quebec City in 1995, when she was 18.
“The face (in the photos) looked familiar, and I had a sexual assault incident in Quebec City when I was 18, and I’m 45 now, so I immediately followed this person.” Which is very fitting,” she said in a recent interview.
Dean said that after a few weeks of anguish, she was motivated to come forward by the thought that she could help the investigation and was reassured by the fact that the tip line had been described as confidential.
Dean said that when she dialed the number, the responding police officer told her that she would have to report to Ottawa police in person so that her identity could be verified. He also told her not to tell anyone else about the story, she said.
When she called the Ottawa Police, she was told by the employee on the line that it was not their jurisdiction and she would have to call the Quebec Provincial Police again.
Dean said she was angry and terrified that no one was willing to help her “in any way, shape or form,” which was already emotionally difficult.
“I didn’t think it would be easy for me, but I didn’t think it would be so tricky, with so many obstacles thrown in my face,” she said.
Unable to focus on anything else, Dean said he called back the Quebec police. His solution this time, he said, was for him in Gatineau, Que. had to drive 40 minutes to the U.S. to deliver his report in person – he felt the advice was too unhelpful given the emotional nature of the subject and the burden it would place on him to take it. Taking time out from her busy life as a mother of two.
Dean said the experience has left her reconsidering whether she wants to make a report.
“It terrifies me more than the actual process and what it’s going to look like,” she said. She is wondering why the police could not have at least offered other options like appointment or reporting via Zoom.
Both Ottawa and the Quebec provincial police said they could not comment on specific cases, but suggested that Dean’s experience must not have been the same.
“When it comes to complaints of sexual assault outside the jurisdiction of the victim, the standard practice of the Ottawa Police Service is to take a report,” Ottawa Police said in a statement. “We recognize that it takes courage to come forward, and there may be many reasons why a victim may not be willing or able to report at the time of an assault.”
Lt. Anne Mathieu of the Quebec Provincial Police said she was “very, very sorry” to hear about the negative experience, and that action would be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Without giving specific details, she said it is possible in some circumstances that callers to the criminal information line could be directed to give their information to local police, who would take the report and send the file to Quebec.
She also said that it is possible that the person answering the phone in Quebec could have handled things differently, including other options for reporting.
“We’re really going to raise awareness among people who work on this line to be attentive to the information they receive and the needs of the person who contacts us,” he said in a phone interview.
Both police services invited Dean to contact them.
Marie-Christine Villeneuve, a spokeswoman for the Quebec victim services group CAVAC, said it is important for police services to be receptive, as many victims are upset by the decision.
“The moment a victim gathers the courage to pick up the phone or speak up at the police station and condemn their assailant, we have to seize that opportunity,” he said in a phone interview.
Villeneuve said that an experience like Dean’s is not ideal, and that it could be due to “a misunderstanding or miscommunication”. She also said that those debating whether to come forward can reach out to organizations like hers, which offer help navigating the process.
Dean says she is unhappy with some of the advice she received from police, including instructions not to talk about her assault and a request to drive – possibly on her own – to report something extremely disturbing. They also feel that the Quebec tip line is not as secretive as it has been made out to be. But she feels it is the process, rather than any one person, that has disappointed her the most.
“It’s the system that has created a reaction to someone who has experienced trauma, and magnifies that trauma,” she said.
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