Charging the wrong person – a ‘rookie’ mistake in the Canadian military justice system

In August 2019, a very senior (but now retired) non-commissioned member (NCM) of the Canadian Forces was charged by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) for an alleged ‘historical’ sexual assault that purportedly occurred in 1996 in Kingston, Ontario.

The problem is that it appears that the CFNIS charged the wrong person.  The person they charged bore the same middle name and surname as their suspect, but had a different first name.

Although the CFNIS announced the charges with a degree of notoriety, their withdrawal of the charges approximately 3 weeks later was done in a low-key fashion and did not indicate the reason – they had charged the wrong person.

On Monday, 20 April 2020, various media outlets, including a  CBC online article, reported that the falsely charged person had brought an action for malicious prosecution against the federal Crown in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench.  

The CBC online article that reported this matter did not state the plaintiff's name.  This is understandable; his reputation has suffered enough due to apparent negligence.  While the facts alleged in the action for malicious prosecution have not yet been proven in court, it is possible to gather information that was published at the time of his arrest, and the subsequent withdrawal of the charge, much of it provided by CFNIS media releases.  The assertions in those media articles present factors that are worthy of discussion for anyone interested in military justice in Canada, particularly with respect to how the Canadian Forces has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct under Op HONOUR.

Global Military Justice Reform contributor Rory Fowler expands upon some of these issues in his blog here.