Navy leaders covered up for sexual offender, Commons committee hears

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Royal Canadian Navy leaders have covered up the actions of a serial sexual offender known as Officer X, the House of Commons defence committee heard Wednesday.

Patrick White, a lieutenant of the Royal Canadian Navy, testified about the ongoing failure by the navy’s leadership to deal with the numerous complaints made against the “serial sexual misconduct offender known as Officer X.”

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That officer, who serves in the naval reserves, has a 14-year history of such abuse, said White, a lawyer who has been trying for five years to get naval leadership to take action.

Citing internal military reports, this newspaper reported in March that “Officer X has faced multiple allegations of harassment and police investigations since 2006. In addition, a female member of the Canadian Forces filed an allegation of sexual misconduct against Officer X in 2018.”

White testified to the Commons defence committee that military police had concluded there was enough evidence to charge Officer X with sexual assault, but instead the naval leadership decided he needed mentorship rather than punishment.

“To the best of my knowledge, Officer X and all members of the chain of command (involved) are still serving in the Royal Canadian Navy,” White told MPs. “And not one has faced any disciplinary consequences for their actions.”

Those naval reservists who tried to come forward with evidence against Officer X faced repercussions from naval reserve leaders who warned them they could face charges of mutiny and treason, White said. “These threats of high-order criminal charges were made in order to silence and intimidate them.”

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White also testified that he believed there was a danger of further risk since Officer X had a civilian job in which he has direct influence over children.

White also told the committee that Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, was also approached last year by a civilian who outlined in detail the concerns about Officer X.

Topshee was asked for comment Wednesday, but he did not respond. National Defence was also asked for comment, but did not respond.

National Defence spokesperson Frédérica Dupuis noted in a previous statement that “we are aware of a series of incidents and allegations that have occurred over the past several years.” She noted that administrative actions had been taken, but said she couldn’t provide details because of privacy law.

Documents obtained by this newspaper undercut that claim by Dupuis. A team of civilian investigators brought in to look at the matter in 2022 heard no action had been taken against Officer X even though sailors had repeatedly informed the navy about the allegations.

“All of the individuals brought forth allegations that ranged from the ‘lower end of the spectrum’ to the ‘high end’ of the sexual misconduct ‘spectrum,’” the report from National Defence investigators said. “This information was ‘bundled up’ with 14 years of multiple allegations and MP investigations against Officer X that had resulted in ‘zero action.’”

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The team interviewed one navy commander who informed them “there were several MP (military police) investigations, dating as far back as to 2006, in which Officer X was named.”

In a letter dated Aug. 29, 2019, a senior officer informed one of the alleged victims of the sexual misconduct that “administrative actions” had been taken and there was no need for charges against the officer, according to records obtained by this newspaper. The administrative action consisted of entering Officer X’s name in a military database of sexual-misconduct incidents. The alleged victim was also assured that the navy’s senior leaders were aware of the sexual-misconduct incident.

In her previous statement to this newspaper, Dupuis said that, if new allegations were made, the military leadership would act.

But White in his testimony said he tried and failed over the past five years to get the leadership to take action. For his efforts he said he faced retribution from navy leaders.

In addition, the National Defence internal investigation obtained by this newspaper noted sailors had little faith in their Royal Canadian Navy leaders. “Information provided by witnesses also suggested that individuals did not feel supported by (leadership) in regards to the issues they had brought forward about their own personal experiences with Officer X,” the report noted.

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Because of the multiple police investigations dating back to 2006, “it therefore seemed improbable that members of Officer X’s unit (Chain of Command) were not privy to said information.”

The National Defence team noted military police officers who looked into one of the sexual-misconduct complaints against Officer X were confident the specific incident had occurred. But, instead of taking action, police referred the file back to the naval reserves “to deal with it in other ways.”

The naval reserves didn’t take action other than to close the file, the National Defence report said.

One senior navy officer interviewed by the investigators noted “the ‘aggregate’ of information that was gathered by (Naval Reserve Headquarters) had provided beyond the threshold of ‘balance of probabilities’ that Officer X had behaved inappropriately with multiple individuals.”

The Canadian Forces has been mired in allegations of sexual assault and harassment over the past decade.

The resulting scandals prompted reports and inquiries by former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps and former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, along with pledges by military leadership to bring about change. In addition, a number of senior officers have faced charges or court proceedings for alleged sexual misconduct or assault.

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But defence insiders say there is a sense in some areas of the Canadian Forces that the sexual-misconduct scandals are now largely in the past as news media reporting has decreased and a number of high-profile legal cases hav either collapsed or ended in senior officers being found not guilty.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre has said the military culture needs to change to deal with concerns over sexual misconduct. He has also acknowledged that the various allegations and incidents have harmed recruiting efforts. Eyre and the Canadian Forces have introduced a number of initiatives to try to deal with sexual assault and misconduct.

But new figures released in December 2023 showed that, during Eyre’s tenure, the number of reported sexual assaults doubled over a one-year period.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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