A B.C. Mountie who allegedly engaged in a non-consensual sexual act with a city employee and was forced to resign has had his latest attempt to review the disciplinary decision rejected.
In a decision handed down this week, federal Justice Julie Blackhawk dismissed RCMP Sgt. William Turner’s application for a judicial review — one that would have re-litigated a 2022 decision from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Conduct Appeal Adjudicator. The adjudicator's decision had upheld a 2018 decision from the RCMP Conduct Board forcing the officer to resign or face dismissal.
The disciplinary sanctions stem from the spring of 2014, when Turner was in charge of a cell block at an RCMP detachment for “C Watch” in Surrey. Both Turner and a city employee — described in the decision as Ms. A — worked at the same detachment.
Their relationship began with text messages and quickly became “sexual in nature,” according to Blackhawk’s Jan. 14 decision.
“They engaged in sexual activity at work and while on duty several times,” wrote the judge.
On Oct. 10, 2014, Ms. A performed fellatio on Turner in the detachment stairwell. The city employee later alleged to a co-worker that the act was “non-consensual.”
In response, the RCMP Conduct Authority ordered a Code of Conduct investigation against Turner, and on Nov. 16, 2014, the sergeant was suspended from duty and arrested for sexual assault. Crown, however, did not pursue charges.
In statements to investigators, Ms. A said Turner had become “increasingly aggressive.” She had only complied with Turner’s demands for fellatio “to make her work shifts easier,” wrote the Blackhawk.
As the justice put it: “She wanted the encounters to stop.”
Several months elapsed until a hearing process began. Only then did Turner admit to sexual acts with Ms. A while at work and on duty.
At the hearing, Turner was accused of initiating unwanted sexual conduct and pursuing and engaging in an inappropriate relationship with the cell block guard. On Dec. 6, 2018, the RCMP conduct board ultimately gave Turner 14 days to resign or face dismissal.
A month later, Turner appealed the decision, requesting it be overturned and that he be reinstated to the RCMP. An adjudicator ultimately dismissed that appeal in October 2022.
Blackhawk was tasked with reviewing the adjudicator’s decision — a process Turner said was unreasonably delayed and represented a breach of procedural fairness.
But lawyers for the Attorney-General of Canada argued that many of Turner’s submissions disagreed with the board’s initial disciplinary findings. At one point, Turner took issue with the board’s assessment of Ms. A’s credibility; at another, he focused on allegations around consent, and objected to the board’s finding that Ms. A did not explicitly say “no” to the sexual encounter, wrote Blackhawk in her decision.
The judge was not persuaded by Turner’s argument.
“There are many myths and stereotypes about sexual assault that can cause victims to feel shame, guilt, and blame. Not only do these myths and stereotypes have no place in a modern society, in my view, we have an obligation to dispel them,” she wrote.
“Today, sexual assault continues to be underreported, the reasons for this are tied to these antiquated myths and stereotypes. Consent to sexual activity is nuanced and while the word ‘no’ may not be used, other verbal and non-verbal cues must be considered.”
One of the those signals, according to the ruling, was when Ms. A said she wanted to end the relationship.
Blackhawk ruled the adjudicator’s decision was “transparent, justifiable, and intelligible” and dismissed the case.
