No charges Against HRP Officer in Sexual Assault Complaint

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) today released its report regarding an allegation of sexual assault against a male Halifax Regional Police (HRP) Officer made by a female in March of 2014. No media release was issued at the time of the complaint to protect the integrity of the investigation.

On March 24, 2014, SiRT received a call from a lawyer on behalf of a female client. SiRT interviewed the female the next day. She alleged that a male HRP officer had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. SiRT’s investigation included a forensic examination of the female’s phone, and interviews with several friends. Messages retrieved from the phone, and information from those friends, indicated that the female had in fact consented to the encounter with the officer. In a follow up interview with the female she acknowledged she did consent. As a result, there were no grounds to consider charges against the officer.

The full report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.

SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Ron MacDonald, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.

Media Contact:

Ronald MacDonald, QC

Director

Serious Incident Response Team

902-424-8400

Cell: 902-718-9707

E-mail: ronald.j.macdonald@novascotia.ca