News Release
SIU Concludes Investigation into Sexual Assault Complaint in Windsor
Case Number: 07-OSA-079
The investigation began on April 28, 2007, after the Windsor Police Service notified the SIU of two complainants who complained that a WPS officer had acted in an inappropriate sexual manner at the Voodoo nightclub in Windsor. During the course of the three-month probe, SIU investigators determined that there was only one complainant in this incident. Investigators interviewed a total of 11 police and civilian witnesses and tried unsuccessfully, on various occasions, to speak with the complainant and her friend in person. The officer's clothing was also forensically analyzed as part of the probe.
The investigation determined that that the alleged incident took place in the basement of the Voodoo nightclub at approximately 2:30 a.m., after the club's bar had closed. The subject officer was in uniform and had just finished a contract-duty shift at a nearby nightclub when he went to the Vodoo club to speak with the owner. The alleged sexual contact between the officer and the complainant took place in a storage room in the basement.
After a thorough review, Director Cornish concluded that the available evidence fell short of providing a reasonable basis for causing a charge to be laid against the subject officer in this matter. He said, "I am mindful that it is often difficult for complainants to come forward to the authorities and speak about these type of incidents, which can only be made more difficult when the alleged perpetrator is a person of authority. However, I have no detailed account from either the complainant or her friend as to what exactly occurred in the basement of the club. The accounts I do have of the women's allegations are also significantly at odds with the evidence of all the other civilian witnesses who were in the basement. In short, I found that the evidence, in its totality, provided an insufficient basis for proceeding with criminal charges."
The SIU has issued a final news release detailing the completed investigation into this sexual assault allegation due to the publicized nature of the complaint and the significant amount of media coverage on this particular incident.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations