Former QMJHLers plead guilty to sexual assault

In a report from TSN’s Rick Westhead, former Victoriaville Tigres teammates Nicolas Daigle and Massimo Siciliano pleaded guilty to sexual assault on Wednesday afternoon in Quebec City.

The pair of players sexually assaulted a then-17-year-old woman who was working at a hotel the Tigres were staying in June of 2021. According to Westhead, Daigle also pleaded guilty to making a video of the incident and distributing it.

Both players will return to court on October 20 to discuss a sentencing date.

The players were at the hotel celebrating the team’s 2021 QMJHL championship. According to an an agreed statement of facts read by prosecutor Michael Berube, the victim – whose identity has not been made public due to a publication ban – had befriended Daigle while he and the team was living at the hotel during the QMJHL playoffs.

Both Daigle and Siciliano – now 21 – are facing a maximum of 10 years in prison for the assault, according to the Canadian criminal code.

“I hope that the courage of the victim in this case, who came forward to police and was brave enough to be willing to go through a trial, will inspire anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to come forward – no matter how powerful or influential their perpetrator might have been,” Berube told TSN.

Daigle spent parts of four seasons with the Tigres, and had 17 points in 19 games during the team’s playoff run in 2021. He skated in two games with the Tigres in 2021-22 before getting charged back in October of 2021.

Siciliano, a former defenseman, played two seasons in the QMJHL before, like Daigle, getting a two-game stint in 2021-22. Neither player continued in hockey after facing the charges.