Senior military officer charged with sexual assault

A senior officer at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa has been charged with sexual assault, the Canadian Forces said Tuesday.

The accused, now a lieutenant-colonel, was a student at the Royal Military College of Canada in the fall of 1999 at the time of the reported sexual assault, the Canadian Forces said in a media release. The complainant was a female resident ofKingston, and a civilian.

Canadian Forces investigators charged the officer with one count of sexual assault under theCriminal Code, an offencepunishable under provisions of the National Defence Act.

The Canadian Forces said in the release it takes sexual assault allegations very seriously and lays charges when they're appropriate.

"Regardless of when an assault is reported to have taken place, the Canadian Forces Military Police actively pursues all allegations," said Lt.-Col.Francis Bolduc, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

"This charge reflects the effectiveness of our team to investigate reports of sexual assault, support victims and bring to prosecution those persons responsible for criminal sexual offences."

The Canadian Forces did not release the officer's age, nor any details of the alleged assault.