No Charges in Sexual Assault Allegation

The province's independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) released its report today regarding an allegation of sexual assault against a male committed by a Bridgewater Police Officer.

On March 13, 2020 SiRT was contacted by an adult male alleging he had been sexually assaulted during his arrest approximately four months earlier. On November 20, 2019, officers from the Bridgewater Police Service (BPS) and the RCMP arrived at Freeman House to execute an arrest warrant on the Affected Party (AP). A scuffle ensued during the arrest which involved five police officers. The AP advised that during the arrest his pants were taken down three times and one of the police officers put their hand down between the cheek of his buttocks.

The AP was unable to say with any certainty which of the five police officers put their hand between his buttocks. None of the four employees who were present where the arrest took place observed what the AP said happened and there was no closed-circuit video to review.

Based on the information gathered, it was determined there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the AP was sexually assaulted by any of the five police officers who dealt with him

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 the independent civilian director Felix Cacchione, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.

Media Contact:

Felix Cacchione

Director

902-718-9707