Victoria police, former Esquimalt officers hit with sexual abuse lawsuit
CTV
The Victoria Police Department and four former Esquimalt police officers are being sued for $5.3 million over sexual abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
The Victoria Police Department and four former Esquimalt police officers are being sued for $5.3 million over sexual abuse allegations dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
Scott Connors, Robert Cowick, Samuel Devana and Kenneth Cockle are named as defendants in the notice of civil claim, filed with the B.C. Supreme Court on Nov. 12. VicPD is named because it merged with the Esquimalt Police Department in 2003.
The claim details alleged harassment and assault against a woman identified only as Jane Doe, starting in 1989, when she was 17 years old. None of the allegations have been proven or tested in court.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff, now 49, became known to the now defunct Esquimalt Police Department in 1989, when she was arrested for theft.
Soon after, Const. Connors approached Doe, asking if she knew anything about someone possessing drugs — the introduction that led to Doe becoming an informant for Esquimalt police, the suit says.
For the next several years, it’s alleged Connors was harassed and abused by several officers, including Connors, her handler as an informant.
He made unwelcome sexual comments and, “gradually, Connors began touching Jane Doe in increasingly invasive ways, when he was both on duty and off duty,” the suit claims.
Between 1992 and 1993, the plaintiff claims another officer, Const. Cowick, solicited oral sex from her while on duty on several occasions.
