Former Canadian Armed Forces member found guilty of breach of trust and sexual assault at court martial

February 3, 2017 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Ex-Petty Officer, 2nd Class (Ex-PO2) James Wilks has been found guilty of three counts of breach of trust and one count of sexual assault by a General Court Martial in Gatineau, Quebec.

The charges for which Ex-PO2 Wilks was found guilty, relate to breach of trust by a public officer and sexual assault, which occurred while Ex-PO2 Wilks was a CAF recruit medical examiner in London and Windsor, Ontario in 2009. The charges were reported between 2013 and 2016.

Quick Facts

• Of the eight charges, which were preferred by the Director of Military Prosecutions on July 27, 2016, the panel:
  • Found Ex-PO2 Wilks guilty of 3 charges of breach of trust by a public officer, under section 130 of the National Defence Act (NDA) (section 122 Criminal Code of Canada).
  • Found Ex-PO2 Wilks guilty of one charge of sexual assault, under section 130 of the NDA (section 271 Criminal Code of Canada).
• The CAF takes all allegations of any form of sexual misconduct seriously and is committed to dealing with them as quickly as possible.

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Related Products

• Backgrounder – About Court Martial Cases
• Backgrounder – The CAF Court Martial System

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