WINNIPEG
A veteran Winnipeg police officer who also worked for a government child welfare agency has been suspended following allegations of sexually assaulting two 11-year-old boys.
Kenneth Jack Anderson, 47, was formally charged by Manitoba RCMP Tuesday with two counts each of sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation.
Anderson has worked on the city police force for about 17 years.
As recently as last spring, Anderson was “briefly employed” by Manitoba Child and Family Services, police said.
A spokeswoman for the child welfare agency said the accused was placed on unpaid leave.
Citing privacy laws, she would not elaborate on how Anderson was employed and for how long, nor would she say whether the allegations involve clients of Child and Family Services.
Manitoba RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish said she does not have the details about Anderson’s employment with family services.
The charges date back to September 2006. Both of the alleged victims were 11 at the time, Karpish said, but she would not discuss the nature of the alleged incidents.
Police were made aware of the allegations last spring through the city police force, said Karpish.
“There were indications that this happened in our (jurisdiction),” she said.
Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said Anderson was placed on administrative leave around the start of the investigation.
“His employment status is under review,” said Michalyshen.
But Michalyshen did not know if Anderson is getting paid while on leave.
Manitoba Justice has hired Robert Tapper, a Winnipeg defence lawyer, to act as a special prosecutor on the case. It’s department policy to avoid using its own Crown attorneys for cases involving police officers.
Tapper declined to discuss the details of the case.
“It’s just too premature,” he said. “I need to review the file in detail.”
Anderson is not in police custody. He’s due in court Oct. 20 in Teulon, a town about 60 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
No comments:
Post a Comment