Women file suit alleging they were sexually assaulted by RNC officers

Seven women have filed a lawsuit alleging theywere sexually assaulted by "various" on-duty officers withNewfoundland and Labrador's provincial police force between 2001 and2017.

The women allege officers with the Royal NewfoundlandConstabulary offered them rides home at night mostly from the busy,bar-lined George Street in downtown St. John's and then assaultedthem.

Their statement of claim, filed Sept. 9 in the province's SupremeCourt, names the government of Newfoundland and Labrador which isresponsible for the force as the sole defendant in the case. Italleges the government "knew or ought to have known" that officerswere targeting women in the St. John's area, and that the governmentis vicariously liable for the assaults.

"Further, having knowledge of the sexual misconduct the[government] had a duty to warn the public of this danger and failedto do so," says the statement of claim.

In one instance, a woman alleges she was driven to a remote areaand forced to perform oral sex on an unnamed Royal NewfoundlandConstabulary officer in 2001 after he'd offered her a ride home. Sheinitially resisted but he "intimated" that he would leave herstranded if she refused his advances, the statement of claim says.

Another woman alleges in the document that she was raped by anunnamed officer in her house in 2014 after he gave her a ride homefrom a night of drinking, according to the document.

Traumatizing process

None of the allegations have been proven in court. The women'snames are protected by a publication ban, and their lawyer saidTuesday they are not pursuing criminal charges.

"The women involved in this case have seen what happens in thecriminal justice system and they don't like it," saidtheir lawyer, LynnMoore, in an interview. "It's a really traumatizing process."

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary shares policing duties in theprovince with the RCMP. The force has been rocked by sexualmisconduct allegations that began after a woman came forward in 2015alleging Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove sexually assaulted her in herhome after driving her home from downtown St. John's. The case wentto trial three times following a successful appeal and a mistrial,and Snelgrove was convicted last year. He is appealing thatconviction.

Only one officer is identified in the lawsuit: retired RoyalNewfoundland Constabulary sergeant Robert Baldwin is named by twoplaintiffs. One woman alleges Baldwin kissed and touched her withouther consent in 2017, after offering her a ride home in his markedpolice car. The other alleges he entered her home and sexuallyassaulted her after offering her a ride home in 2015.

Baldwin denies the claims.

"We can categorically deny the allegations that have been madeagainst him, which have not yet been proven," Glenda Best,Baldwin's lawyer, said in an emailed statement Monday evening. He isalso named in a suit filed in January alleging he raped a fellowofficer in 2014, after offering her a ride home. Baldwin deniesthose claims as well, according to court documents.

Statement claims physical, psychological harm

Moore said it is impossible to say exactly how many officers wereinvolved in the alleged assaults.

"The women involved, by andlarge, did not know the police officers and were only able toprovide a description," she said, adding that based on thosedescriptions, she believes "several" officers were involved.

They're hopeful that this case will prompt the RoyalNewfoundland Constabulary to think about how they're training theirofficers and what messages are being spread in their institution.- Lynn Moore

Moore said she expects more women will come forward withallegations, but she notes that class could be a barrier. So far,she said, she has only been approached with allegations frommiddle-class women.

"It seems to me that if someone is looking to exploit women,they might start off with women who are more living on themargins," she said. "I'm very concerned that their voices are notbeing heard."

The statement of claim says the women suffered physical andpsychological harm as a result of the officers' alleged sexualmisconduct. Some plaintiffs are in counselling, and some have hadtrouble supporting themselves, the document says.

The lawsuit seeks damages and costs for the plaintiffs. Mooresaid the women are also hoping to spark change within the policeforce.

"They are interested in reforming the system," she said."They're hopeful that this case will prompt the RoyalNewfoundland Constabulary to think about how they're training theirofficers and what messages are being spread in their institution."

Newfoundland and Labrador's Justice Department did notimmediately respond to a request for comment.

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