Quebec's justice minister says comments made by a Quebec court judge about a teenage victim assaulted by her taxi driver are unacceptable, after it came to light that the judge had commented on the girl's weight and suggested she enjoyed getting attention from a handsome older man. 
 
 In May, Judge Jean-Paul Braun found taxi driver Carlo Figaro guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old passenger in 2015. 
 
 During the trial, Braun commented on the victim's appearance, saying she was "a bit overweight, but she has a pretty face." 
 
 When asked about Braun's comments Wednesday morning, Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée told reporters they were "unacceptable" and that she would be filing a complaint with Quebec's magistrates council. 
 
 A spokesperson for that body, which hears complaints against judges, said for now it will not be commenting on Braun's remarks. 
 
 A spokesperson for the Quebec court also declined to comment, referring questions back to the magistrates council. 
 
 According to the victim's version of events, outlined in the judgment, on the night of the assault, Figaro stopped the car not far from her house and licked her face. She pushed him away and tried to get out, but in the meantime he touched her breasts and genitals over her clothing and unbuttoned her shirt. 
 
 Figaro denied that any sexual contact occurred, but said the victim rubbed the back of his head while she was in the car. 
 
 Figaro, now 49, has yet to be sentenced. 
 
 His next court date is in November. The defence has appealed his conviction. 
 
 'Not the same consent' 
 
 Audio recordings of the court proceedings show that Braun also went back and forth with Crown prosecutor Amélie Rivard, suggesting there are degrees of consent and questioning exactly which actions required Figaro to get the victim's consent. 
 
 The judge said it is not the same to consent to kiss someone and to "mettre … la main au panier," a French expression that usually refers to touching someone's rear end. 
 
 Rivard replied that she hadn't come across that distinction in the jurisprudence. 
 
 Braun also highlighted the girl's strict religious upbringing and suggested she enjoyed getting the attention from a man who "looks good" and that she had even flirted with him. 
 
 Rivard said the girl was simply being polite and that even if she were flirting, it didn't mean that constituted consent. 
 
 Braun also commented in his written decision on the appearance of the 49-year-old taxi driver. 
 
 "He looks good and doesn't seem his age," the judge stated. 
 
 "We can see from his testimony … that he has nice manners and that he likes to wear cologne: with Versace when he goes out, and with other less-expensive colognes during the week." 
 
 Figaro denied ever noticing the 17-year-old in the past, even though he stopped at the coffee shop where she worked regularly. 
 
 The judge, in his ruling, stated that he finds that hard to believe, "taking into consideration the [victim's] figure, which is quite voluptuous; the court specifies that she is a pretty young girl." 
 
 Despite his line of questioning regarding the girl's role in the assault, Braun found Figaro guilty. 
 
 In his decision, Braun said that while the victim perhaps didn't make it clear that she didn't want to be kissed, through her body language and words, she did make it clear that she didn't consent to what happened after that. 
 
 'Completely unacceptable' 
 
 CALACS West Island, a support group for survivors of sexual assault, said the comments were disturbing. 
 
 
 
 "He gave messages that were reprehensible … giving her the message that even though she was sexually assaulted, maybe in some way, she was flattered by these comments," Caroline Deslauriers, a counsellor with CALACS, told CBC News. 
 
 "These comments are completely unacceptable. They're unacceptable from anybody, but especially coming from a judge." ||||| Quebec’s justice minister will file a complaint against a judge who said a 17-year-old victim of sexual assault had a pretty face and was maybe a “bit flattered” at the interest shown in her. Le Journal de Montreal reported Wednesday that Quebec court Judge Jean-Paul Braun made the comments earlier this year during the sexual assault trial of taxi driver Carlo Figaro, who was eventually found guilty of attacking her in his cab. “We can say she is a little overweight, but she has a pretty face, huh?” Braun said at one point. He went on to say she was possibly even “a little flattered” because “maybe it’s the first time he’s interested in her.” Braun said the victim was perhaps a bit naive, although she didn’t expect to be groped during the taxi ride. 
 
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 The trial heard that Figaro licked the girl’s face and grabbed her before she was able to get out of the vehicle. Braun noted that trying to kiss someone could be seen as an acceptable gesture. In Quebec City on Wednesday, Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee called the judge’s remarks unacceptable and said she intends to file a complaint. 
 
 Braun convicted Figaro, 49, last May of sexual assault and the cabbie will return to court in November for a sentencing hearing. He is appealing the verdict. Quebec court Chief Judge Lucie Rondeau said in a statement the court would not comment on Braun’s case. “Indeed, following the complaint announced by the justice minister, it is up to the Conseil de la magistrature du Quebec (judicial council) to decide whether an ethical fault has been committed,” Rondeau wrote. But that didn’t stop provincial politicians of all stripes weighing in Wednesday, roundly criticizing the judge’s comments as unacceptable. Helene David, the minister responsible for the status of women, called on judges to address the issue. “Do they need more training? Do they need more sensibility? I don’t know — this is their problem,” David told a news conference. “But they have to solve that kind of problem and change the mentality and attitude.” Parti Quebecois Leader Jean-Francois Lisee called Braun’s comments troubling. “This is very serious,” he said, adding the judge should recuse himself from further cases. “We turn to our judges for wisdom and (upholding) the law, and we have had neither.” Quebec solidaire member Manon Masse said in a statement the judge’s comments demonstrate that “rape culture is implanted in different spheres of Quebec society and, once again, this is another example of a person in a position of authority making inappropriate remarks toward women.” She called on the judicial council to settle the matter quickly. The council must first evaluate whether a complaint will be accepted and, if so, an investigative committee would examine the facts before determing whether there would be any eventual sanction. A spokeswoman for the council declined comment Wednesday. At the federal level, a bill proposed by ex-Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose that would mean changes to sex assault law training for federally appointed judges is before the Senate. In response to complaints about judges’ comments in other jurisdictions, Ontario also made sexual assault training a requirement for provincial judges in May. 
 
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 A Canadian judge has come under fire for noting a sexual assault victim's weight and appearance in court. 
 
 Quebec court Judge Jean-Paul Braun also suggested the victim was a "little flattered" by the attention she received from her alleged assailant. 
 
 He made the comments while presiding over the trial of a taxi driver accused of assaulting a 17-year-old passenger. 
 
 Provincial Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée called the comments unacceptable and has filed a complaint. 
 
 The Journal de Montreal newspaper first reported on Judge Braun's recorded remarks made in court in May. 
 
 Judge Braun eventually found the taxi driver, Carlo Figaro, 49, guilty of sexual assault. He is appealing the verdict. 
 
 According to the victim's testimony, Figaro tried to kiss her, licked her face and groped her while she was a passenger in his vehicle. 
 
 "You could say she's a little overweight, but she has a pretty face, huh?" the judge said of the victim during the trial, according to a recording obtained by the Journal de Montreal. 
 
 He also spoke about the different degrees of consent required to kiss someone, saying it was "not the same" as the consent required to grab a person's rear end, the newspaper reported. 
 
 The judge also reportedly mused the victim might have been flattered by the attention from the taxi driver because "it was perhaps the first time that he was interested in her". 
 
 It is not the first time Mr Braun has come under scrutiny. 
 
 He was criticised in 2013 for saying the case of a telecom technician who verbally harassed a 19-year-old and grabbed her breasts was not "the crime of the century". 
 
 On Twitter, the head of the Quebec Bar Association, Paul-Matthieu Grondin, called Judge Braun's remarks "deplorable" and said they do not have a place in today's justice system. 
 
 Quebec's magistrate's council, which handles ethics complaints about provincially appointed judges, said it does not comment on complaints it receives. 
 
 The council reviews complaints before determining whether to launch an investigation. If necessary an inquiry committee decides on possible sanctions. 
 
 In May, the province of Ontario made sexual assault training mandatory for newly appointed provincial judges.
– Taxi driver Carlo Figaro was found guilty of sexual assault in a Quebec court earlier this year, but not before the judge in his case made some questionable comments about the 17-year-old victim. The BBC reports a complaint has been filed by a provincial minister against Judge Jean-Paul Braun. Per the CBC, the teen victim had testified the 49-year-old Figaro had assaulted her while she was his passenger in 2015, stopping the cab near her home and proceeding to touch her body through her clothes, unbutton her shirt, and lick her face. "You could say she's a little overweight, but she has a pretty face, huh?" Braun said during the May proceedings, per a recording heard by the French-language Journal de Montreal. Braun also reportedly said she may have been a "little flattered by Figaro's attentions—he noted Figaro "looks good," is well-mannered, and wears brand-name cologne—and mused on the different levels of consent required for kissing versus grabbing someone's buttocks. However, Braun conceded that even if the teen, who he stated in his ruling had a "voluptuous" figure, had initially been flirty, she'd also shown she didn't offer consent for Figaro to do much of what he did. Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee filed a complaint against Braun to the local magistrates council and told reporters Wednesday his comments were "unacceptable." Figaro, who denies sexual contact happened, is appealing. His sentencing date is in November, per the Toronto Star.