Navy officer in Kingston, Ont., charged with sexual assault, criminal harassment

OTTAWA – The military says a navy lieutenant stationed in Kingston, Ont., has been charged with sexual assault and criminal harassment.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service says Lt. Brendan Ryan has been charged in connection with a reported assault against a civilian victim at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw in May 2012.

The harassment charge relates to alleged incidents that reportedly took place between August 2012 and October 2014.

The sexual assault case was first reported to the RCMP in November 2013, then passed to the military police because it was alleged to have occurred on a Forces base.

The charges were laid after Ryan was posted this month to courses at the Royal Military College of Canada.

The investigative service is a military police unit set up to investigate serious cases connected to National Defence property and employees and Forces personnel serving in Canada and abroad.

Lt.-Col. Francis Bolduc, commander of the service, said the unit is determined to investigate all reports of sexual assault in the military and the department.

“Regardless of when a reported assault took place or the complexity of the investigation, our efforts remain focused on supporting the prosecution of those responsible for sexual offences,” Bolduc said in a statement.