London police headquarters on Dundas St. file photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn NewsLondon police headquarters on Dundas St. file photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News
London

London police officer charged in off-duty sexual assault

A London police officer is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he had a relationship with over a seven month period.

The assaults are alleged to have happened while the officer was off-duty between August 2021 and February of this year. They were reported to police on March 10.

Following an investigation, a four-year veteran of the London Police Service was charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault with choking.

"The 25-year-old officer and the female victim had been involved in a relationship, therefore, to protect the identity of the woman, the officer’s name will not be released," police said in a statement released on Monday.

The officer has been released from custody and will appear in court in relation to the charges on June 8. He has been suspended with pay. Under a provision in the current Police Services Act, an officer cannot be suspended without pay when criminal charges are laid.

This is the second London police officer to be charged with an offence since the end of last year. On December 31, OPP announced a 37-year-old, 14 year veteran of the police service had been charged with being unlawfully in a house and operating a vehicle while impaired. Those charges also stemmed from an off-duty incident.

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