Former B.C. public health officer charged with additional sex crimes involving a child

The former top doctor for B.C.'s Interior has been charged with additional sex crimes involving a child following an investigation by police in Alberta.

Albert de Villiers, who lives in Kelowna and was formerly the chief medical officer for Interior Health, has been charged with invitation to sexual touching, voyeurism, and making sexually explicit material available to a child.

The crimes allegedly occurred in Alberta between January 2017 and December 2019.

After attending a judicial hearing, de Villiers was released on multiple conditions, including not being in the presence of any persons under 16 without supervision.

De Villiers was arrested in Kelownain June 2021 after a warrant was issued in Albertafollowing an investigation bythe Grande Prairie Special Investigative Unit.

At the time, de Villiers was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference. Those initial charges were in relation to offences that were alleged to have involved a child between 2018 and 2020.

Before working in public health in British Columbia, de Villiers, now 54, was a medical officer of health for Alberta's north zone for 16 years until July 2020. He is no longer the chief medical officer for Interior Health.

De Villiers is scheduled to appear in Grande Prairie Provincial Court on Sept. 12.