Former Manitoba corrections officer sues Headingley jail over alleged sexual assault

A former Manitoba corrections officer has filed a lawsuit alleging she was sexually assaulted by a colleague on the job at the Headingley Correctional Centre.

The officer, whom CBC is not naming, alleges Manitoba Corrections officials knew about accusations of sexual harassment against the other officer before he sexually assaulted her in a staff room while working an overnight shift in July 2020.

The officer's "misconduct … was committed in the course of his employment, having occurred on-shift" at Headingley, a provincial jail just west of Winnipeg, according to a statement of claim filed in Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench earlier this month.

By employing the officer and scheduling him and the woman together on the night shift, corrections officials "provided the opportunity to commit the assault on the plaintiff," the lawsuit alleges.

It names the officer as a defendant, along with the government of Manitoba, Headingley Correctional Centre and the Correctional Service of Canada.

A statement of defence has not been filed and none of the allegations have yet been tested in court.

A spokesperson for the provincial government said it takes all allegations of sexual assault and harassment seriously, but could not comment further because the case is before the courts.

The officer accused was criminally charged with sexual assault, RCMP said in February 2021. A trial on that charge is expected to start in or around September, although a date has not been set.

Past sexual harassment

The suit filed by the officer says in July 2020, she was working as a part-time corrections officer, while the defendant worked full time.

In the workplace culture of the Headingley jail, full-time officers had a higher status than their part-time colleagues, her statement of claim says. That created a culture where part-time officers were subjected to bullying and hazing from full-time co-workers, it says.

In 2016, the male officer had been promoted to a supervisory role over other officers, but was demoted after he was found to have sexually harassed a lower-level co-worker, the lawsuit says.

The plaintiff started working at the correctional centre in August 2017. 

On multiple occasions, she "received unsolicited and unwanted sexually suggestive and explicit messages and photographs from the officer," despite telling him to stop, her claim says.

After she reported the behaviour to a co-worker in early 2020, the woman was told to take her concerns to the "lowest level" and talk to the officer directly.

The lawsuit says she followed those directions and told the officer that his behaviour was inappropriate and unwanted, but he continued. She then told a supervisor, but nothing was done.

Officer fired

While working together overnight on or around July 15, 2020, the plaintiff went into the staff room, where the other officer was sitting at a table. When she lay down on a couch, the other officer made a comment suggesting he hoped she would fall asleep so he could sexually assault her, the suit alleges.

She pretended to fall asleep in an effort to get him to stop making similar comments, but he later walked over to the couch and crouched down next to the woman, asking to touch her breasts, her claim says.

After the woman said no, he reached under her shirt and fondled and sucked on her breasts, according to her statement of claim. The woman "froze in fear and disbelief," it says.

He then asked for oral sex. Again the woman said no, and he reached down and grabbed the woman's genitals over her pants, the suit alleges.

The woman reported the sexual assault to her superiors a few days later, after which she went on sick leave. 

Managers told the woman if she was unable to return to work, she would lose her pay, because she was "choosing" to be off work, the statement of claim says.

After a five-month investigation substantiated the woman's allegations, the male officer was fired in November 2020.

The woman's suit says she suffered from depression, including suicidal thoughts. It asks for both general and punitive damages.

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.