Ashcroft farm manager accused of sexual assaulting foreign workers won’t be charged

Criminal charges won't be laid against a manager at Ashcroft's Desert Hills farm accused of sexually assaulting Guatemalan workers, but a human rights hearing is still ongoing.

The BC Prosecution Service refused to comment when asked earlier this week if David Porter is facing charges, but now says the farm manager won't be charged.

"After conducting a charge assessment, the assessing Crown counsel did not approve charges after concluding that the charge assessment standard was not met," Crown spokesperson Dan McLaughlin said in an emailed statement.

According to a BC Human Rights Tribunal decision, RCMP began investigating Porter in 2020 for claims he sexually assaulted temporary foreign workers at the farm.

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Police forwarded their investigation to Crown counsel, which was still being reviewed in May 2023, according to the decision. 

Porter not only denies the accusations, but he also tried to have the human rights hearing delayed until the prosecution service finished its assessment or until the criminal proceedings concluded.

The tribunal decided the delay wasn't necessary, allowing the human rights hearing to continue.

The tribunal hasn't yet come to a conclusion on the complaints from at least three temporary workers, whose names are anonymized in the decision.

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On Jan. 15, prosecutors said they had "no information to share" when asked if the assessment was concluded. BC RCMP refused to confirm the investigation existed at all.

The prosecution service now says it came to its decision in October 2023.

McLaughlin noted prosecutors have a "two part test" to determine whether charges will be approved.

The first is whether there's a "substantial likelihood of conviction" and second is whether or not the prosecution is in the "public interest." 

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