The mother of Jolène Riendeau was formally charged in court today with assaulting a sexual predator last month at the Montreal courthouse.

Dolorès Soucy was seen hitting Roger Laramée after he was acquitted of the more serious charges against him in a sex assault case. He was released pending his sentence.

Soucy entered a plea of not guilty. She is also free under several conditions while her case wends its way through the courts: to keep a distance of at least 50 m of Laramée and to keep away from his house and his work. She's also not allowed to be at the court house except for her own case which returns to court in September.

Soucy's 10-year-old daughter Riendeau disappeared April 12, 1999 outside a dépanneur near her home in Pointe-Saint-Charles.

Laramée was sentenced in 2002 to 20 months inprison for assault, armed assault, sexual assault, and sexually touching a girl under 14.