WATCH: Crown prosecutor Stephany Robitaille says suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau is out of his court-ordered rehabilitation but still attending treatment
GATINEAU – Suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau is out of a court-ordered rehabilitation facility but still attending treatment for a drug and alcohol problem, a Crown attorney prosecuting his two separate assault cases said Tuesday.
“He’s still continuing his treatment,” Crown prosecutor Stephany Robitaille said.
Brazeau is facing an assault and sexual assault charge from February 2013, as well as drug and assault charges from April.
But the two alleged victims of Brazeau’s second assault charge – a former girlfriend and a friend – want to drop the charges against him, his lawyer said.
The Crown would not comment.
Brazeau was ordered to attend the Melaric rehabilitation centre in Rigaud, Que. in April after he was charged with five offences including drug possession.
He is now in treatment at the Outaouais re-adaptation centre in Gatineau, a few minutes north of Ottawa, Robitaille said.
READ MORE: ‘He’s got nobody’: senators say they urged Brazeau to seek help
Brazeau, who was not in court Tuesday, is due back for an appearance on Sept. 5 for a pre-trial meeting regarding the assault charges stemming from an incident last February.
He is also facing fraud and breach of trust charges in Ottawa relating to his housing and expense claims as a senator.
Robitaille said that even if victims want to withdraw a charge, it is up to the Crown to decide.
Brazeau must continue to abide by conditions which include obeying a curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., abstaining from alcohol, and staying away from his alleged victims.
Along with former Conservative senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin, Brazeau was suspended without pay in November. The suspension lasts until the end of the Parliamentary session, which is likely about two years until the federal election in 2015.
The Senate can decide whether to formally kick out a senator if he or she is convicted of an indictable offence.
laura.stone@globalnews.ca
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