Accused of extreme harassment towards his superior, he blames the victim

A former Deloitte tax specialist accused of extreme harassment of his superior has denied having committed any form of crime, even at times blaming the victim.

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“If she didn’t like my content on Facebook, she could have just blocked me. I could not know that she felt harassed, ”Pleaded Philippe Dubé, Tuesday, at the Montreal courthouse.

Accused of stalking, the 30-year-old former tax expert began his closing arguments at his jury trial. And according to him, his actions at the beginning of 2020, for 15 months, do not deserve condemnation.

At the time, freshly hired by the firm located in downtown Montreal, Dubé would have fallen in love with a superior. Uncomfortable, the latter would have explained to him that their relationship was one of work only.

Obsession

However, instead of stopping there, Dubé would have developed an obsession, in addition to starting to believe in conspiracies. He thought for example that his employer, who had fired him, wanted his skin.

He had even started to believe that comedian Martin Matte was sending him messages via advertisements for Maxi.

This allegedly led him to inundate the woman with emails, texts, photos and even videos, even going so far as to follow her once while she was grocery shopping.

“He didn’t stop for 15 months. He was sent a formal notice, but he continued. The victim was so scared that on several occasions she had to go to sleep with friends.

She was so afraid for her safety that agents were hired to stand guard at her home, ”said Me Patrick Lafrenière, of the Crown, at the start of the trial.

From Dubé’s perspective, these fears were unwarranted.

« Like a Monster »

“I was presented as a monster, when I was afraid for my reputation and my integrity,” he pleaded. As for his ideas mixing his superior and the conspiracies, he swears that it was to protect her.

« She may have seen herself as a victim, but I don’t think I’m the cause of her fear, » he said, despite the testimony of the woman, who said she was worried about the defendant. . According to her, Dubé had shown himself « more and more disconnected from reality » over the months. Dubé pleaded that without an « explicit request » for him to stop, he could not know how the woman was feeling. The jury will deliberate soon.