Manitoba

RCMP officer charged with breach of trust after sexual assault investigation: Manitoba police watchdog

RCMP received a report in July about an alleged sexual assault by an on-duty RCMP officer in Flin Flon in June. They reported it to the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which determined there are reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence occurred.

Independent Investigation Unit found reasonable grounds to believe criminal offence occurred

A shoulder patch with the RCMP logo.
The civilian director of Independent Investigation Unit found there were reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence, a news release says. (Shannon VanRaes/Reuters)

An RCMP officer has been charged with breach of trust following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Manitoba's police watchdog. 

The charges are related to an incident that allegedly happened on June 27 in the Flin Flon, Man., area, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a Thursday news release.

RCMP received a report on July 7 about an alleged sexual assault by an on-duty RCMP officer. They reported it the next day to the investigative unit, which investigates serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.

Following an investigation, the police watchdog determined there are reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence occurred and authorized a charge of breach of trust under the Criminal Code, the unit's news release says.

The officer, formerly from the RCMP detachment in Creighton, Sask. — just across the provincial border from Flin Flon — was charged on Oct. 7 and released on an undertaking. 

He is set to appear in Manitoba provincial court on Nov. 23 in The Pas. 

No other details have been made public. The investigative unit is not releasing any further information about the incident as it is now before the court, the release said.