Harold LeBel

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Harold LeBel

| image =

| caption =

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age |1962|06|22}}

| birth_place = Squatec, Quebec, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Independent

| otherparty = Parti Québécois {{small|(2014-2020)}}

| profession =

| residence = Rimouski, Quebec

| honorific-suffix = MNA

| office1 = Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Rimouski

| term_start1 = April 7, 2014

| term_end1 = August 28, 2022

| predecessor1 = Irvin Pelletier

| successor1 = Maïté Blanchette Vézina

| portfolio =

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}}

Harold LeBel ({{IPA|fr|a.ʁɔld lə.bɛl}}; born June 22, 1962) is a former Canadian politician and convicted sex offender in Quebec, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2014 election.[http://www.lavantage.qc.ca/Actualites/2014-04-07/article-3680693/Le-pequiste-Harold-LeBel-elu-dans-Rimouski-avec-plus-de-40-%25-des-voix/1 "Le péquiste Harold LeBel élu dans Rimouski avec plus de 40 % des voix"]. Journal L'Avantage, April 7, 2014. He represented the electoral district of Rimouski as a member of the Parti Québécois.

He was a candidate for the party three times previously, running in Rivière-du-Loup in the 1989 election and the 1994 election, and in Kamouraska-Témiscouata in the 2003 election.[http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/regional/estduquebec/archives/2014/02/20140217-201158.html "Harold Lebel candidat à l'investiture du PQ"]. TVA Nouvelles, February 17, 2014.

On December 15, 2020, he was arrested following allegations of sexual assault against Catherine Fournier, a former member of the National Assembly and current mayor of Longueuil, dating back to 2017. He was released later that day, and subsequently expelled from the PQ caucus, pending further investigations.{{cite news|title=Harold LeBel removed from Parti Québécois caucus following arrest|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7522978/pq-removes-harold-lebel/|publisher=Global News|location=Rimouski|date=15 December 2020|access-date=15 December 2020}}

LeBel was found guilty on November 23, 2022 of sexually assaulting Fournier at his residence in 2017.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-23 |title=Former Quebec MNA Harold LeBel found guilty of sexual assault |url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/former-quebec-mna-harold-lebel-found-guilty-of-sexual-assault-1.6165839 |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Montreal |language=en}}

On January 26, 2023, at the courthouse of Rimouski, he was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment.{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2023 |title=Former PQ MNA Harold LeBel sentenced to eight months in jail for sex assault {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9438445/pq-harold-lebel-sexual-assault-sentencing/ |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=globalnews.ca |language=en-US}}

On March 21, 2023, after expressing remorse for his crime during therapies in prison, LeBel was granted parole.{{Cite web |last=Marin |first=Stéphanie |date=2023-03-21 |title=L'ex-député Harold LeBel peut sortir de prison, au quart de sa peine |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/justice/786249/justice-l-ex-depute-harold-lebel-peut-sortir-de-prison |access-date=2023-04-19 |website=Le Devoir |language=fr}}