Texts with 15-year-old girl at centre of early investigation into Surrey, B.C. police officer before his death

RCMP had recommended a charge against a B.C. police officer before his death by suicide earlier this year, following an investigation for inappropriate texts to a teenager he met on the job, including messages asking the girl whether she gets "wild" when she's drunk and asking her to play truth or dare.

The details of the allegations against Cpl. Dilbag "Dylan" Hothi, 26, are laid out for the first time in redacted court documents obtained by CBC News after successfully challenging a court-ordered seal keeping the files from the public. 

The officer was arrested and suspended after the investigation began last summer, but never criminally charged and the allegations were never tested in court. The criminal investigation was in its early stages at the time of his death in February. 

On Friday, Surrey RCMP confirmed for the first time that it had recommended a charge against Hothi to the B.C. Prosecution Service in September, but it was not approved before his death.

After his death, the force confirmed Hothi was the same officer suspended from active duty over breach of trust allegations. Upon seeking more information about the case, CBC News learned all court files around his case had been sealed from public view.

A judge ordered redacted versions of the documents should be released after a hearing on Thursday, ruling that the family's privacy concerns were outweighed by the Canadian principle of court openness and transparency.

Hothi met teenager while responding to call: statement

An investigator with Surrey RCMP laid out the key allegations against Hothi in an affadavit — or sworn statement — signed in November. The document said the case began last August after the teenage girl, then 15, showed Mounties her texts with Hothi.

The girl told investigators she met the police officer when he responded to a call to help her friend a few days earlier, documents said. She said she exchanged numbers with Hothi so she could keep him updated about her friend's whereabouts.

She said she told the officer she was 15 and he told her he was 26. 

The girl told RCMP she initially texted Hothi at his work number but that he later asked her to message him on his personal phone instead.

She said Hothi asked her to meet on two separate occasions over the following days and at one point asked her whether she gets "wild" after drinking alcohol.

"Hothi told [the girl] that he gets 'wild and horny' when he drinks," the document said, citing the teenager's statement to RCMP.

Hothi and the girl eventually made plans to meet around 10 or 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 14. She said he suggested a game of "truth or dare" once they were together in person, but that her texts stopped delivering to Hothi's phone around 10 p.m.

The girl went to Surrey RCMP and showed them the texts that night, the documents said.

Mounties later seized both of Hothi's iPhones. An analyst who examined screenshots in September said the officer and the teenager exchanged 40 texts between Aug. 11 and 12, according to court documents. Another officer who reviewed the screenshots said Hothi sent the girl a photo of himself in sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt.

Investigating Surrey RCMP officers also searched his police notebook but returned it because it didn't contain any evidence, documents said.

Hothi was later arrested and suspended with pay on Aug. 17. 

Six months later, on Feb. 8, Hothi died by suicide at an indoor shooting range in Langley, about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver. He found out the Surrey Police Service was going to issue a press release about him, court heard on Thursday.

The Surrey Police Service (SPS) declined to comment on the unsealed documents.

Previously, the SPS had said only that Hothi was suspended for an investigation related to breach of trust — a charge that can be brought if investigators believe a police officer committed a crime that violates their duties or position of trust in society.

In a Friday emailed statement to CBC News, Surrey RCMP confirmed it had shared its investigation's findings with the B.C. Prosecution Service and recommended a charge against Hothi on Sept. 29, 2022. 

Family argues documents not in public interest

During Thursday's hearing to unseal the documents, family lawyer Nathan Lidder argued the documents should stay sealed because the investigation was only in its early stages at the time of Hothi's death. He said the information would negatively affect the officer's surviving family.

Lidder also emphasized Hothi was never charged with any crime and noted the officer no longer has the chance to defend the allegations.

"[The release to the public] would be an affront to the proper administration of justice," Lidder said.

After hearing from lawyers on both sides for roughly an hour and a half, the judge ordered that the documents be unsealed.

"I find the impact to the public purpose of privacy and dignity is outweighed by the principle of court openness," Judge Jay Solomon told the court.

"In my view, the public purpose of openness is better served by releasing the information sought."

Hothi previously served with Surrey RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces.

B.C.'s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), concluded in March that the RCMP's response to the shooting range was not a factor in Hothi's death.