Indigenous woman reaches settlement with Kelowna RCMP over sex assault interrogation

An Indigenous woman who launched a lawsuit against the Kelowna RCMP officer to whom she reported a sexual assault eight years ago has reached an out-of-court settlement with the police force.

Aden Withers was 17 years old in 2012 when the officer asked her if she was "turned on" by the attack.

The case sparked public outrage after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered that the video of the interrogation be made public in May 2019.

"I'm satisfied with the settlement that I got." said Withers in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.

In June 2019, she launched a civil lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Kenneth Hall, the Attorney General of Canada and B.C.'s Minister of Justice.

Withers can't disclose the terms of the settlement or any compensation she may have received due to a non-disclosure agreement.

She was a minor in the care of the B.C. child welfare system when she reported the assault.

She says mediation with the RCMP went on for a year and a half before the settlement was reachedMonday.

"It was very traumatizing having to relive all my trauma. I had some hospitalizations for my own health."

Her lawsuit claimed she had suffered consequences stemming from the interview, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, nervous shock, insomnia and nightmares and a suicide attempt.

In spite of that, she says the lawsuit was worth it.

"After watching the video I decided to go public with it because I wanted to empower people," said Withers. "And empower other rape victims to come forward."

RCMPsays all claims settled

In a statement emailed to CBC News, RCMP says that all legal claims related to the incident have been settled.

"We regret this incident and remain committed to improving how our employees respond to victims and investigate allegations of sexual assault," said spokesperson Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet. "This incident highlighted the importance for the RCMP to continue to review and update our sexual assault investigative training, practices and policies."

In May 2019, Ralph Goodale, then Public Safety Minister, called the contents of the video "abhorrent" and publicly condemned Hall's actions.

Withers says the whole experience has made her distrustful of police and other authority figures.

"I've been in situations where it's hard to deal with RCMP and my PTSD gets triggered so bad that I'm unable to speak."