RCMP officer charged with breach of trust after sexual assault investigation: Manitoba police watchdog

An RCMP officer has been charged with breach of trust following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Manitoba's police watchdog.

The charges are related to an incident that allegedly happened on June 27 in the Flin Flon, Man., area, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a Thursday news release.

RCMP received a report on July 7 about an alleged sexual assault by an on-duty RCMP officer. They reported it the next day to the investigative unit,which investigates serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.

Following an investigation, the police watchdog determined there are reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence occurred and authorizeda charge of breach of trust under the Criminal Code, the unit's news release says.

The officer, formerly from theRCMP detachment in Creighton, Sask. just across the provincial border from Flin Flon was charged on Oct. 7 and released on an undertaking.

He is set to appear in Manitoba provincial court on Nov. 23 in The Pas.

No other details have been made public. The investigative unit is not releasing any further information about the incident as it is now before the court, the release said.