Seven women have filed a civil lawsuit alleging they were sexually assaulted by “various” on-duty officers with Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial police force between 2001 and 2017.
A statement of claim filed Sept. 9 with the province’s Supreme Court names the provincial government, which is responsible for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary as the sole defendant in the case.
The women allege in the statement of claim that they were kissed, touched or penetrated by Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers without their consent after the officers had offered them rides home at night.
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In one instance alleged to have occurred in 2001, a woman claims an unnamed officer drove her to a remote area and forced her to perform oral sex on him after she rebuffed his sexual advances and he suggested that he would leave her out there alone.
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Retired Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Sgt. Robert Baldwin is the only officer named in the statement of claim, with allegations from two women ranging from unwanted kissing and touching to penetration, but his lawyer said in an email Monday that he denies all of the allegations.
None of the allegations in the suit have been proven in court, and Lynn Moore, the women’s lawyer, said today that they are not pursuing criminal charges.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
