RCMP officer won't be charged after teen complains of groping

A Powerview RCMP officer accused of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old girl during her arrest will not face charges.

The officer arrested the girl for breaching the peace on Oct. 15, 2016. According to IIU civilian director Zane Tessler's report, officers were called to the girl's residence and found her locked in a car. They got a spare key from her mother and removed her from the car.

The girl alleges that while she was being searched, one of the officers grabbed her breast "full on" and that during a lower-body search, he touched her buttocks and inner thigh near her crotch.

The girl told her father about her alleged mistreatment and he filed a complaint on Oct. 25, 2016, initially about her treatment while in custody. Investigators interviewed the officer at the centre of the complaint, as well as one other witness officer, but the girl wasn't interviewed until March 31, 2017.

That is when she made the allegation of sexual assault.

Investigators also interviewed a third officer who attended the scene, as well as the officer who took custody of the teen at the jail. Neither said they saw the officer touch the girl inappropriately, or heard her complain about her treatment.

The officer who was subject of the complaint, as well as the first witness officer interviewed following the initial complaint, declined to be interviewed regarding the sexual assault allegation.

The Independent Investigation Unit, which looks into all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, referred the findings of its investigation to Manitoba Prosecution Service, which advised there is no reasonable likelihood of a conviction.

Based on that advice, the IIU has decided not to authorize charges against the officer.