It has been approximately two decades since Judge David Ramsay pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Indigenous girls in Prince George, B.C., and was given a seven-year prison sentence.
Those same girls also accused a number of RCMP officers of crimes, but no Mounties have ever been charged.
Global News has confirmed there’s still a criminal investigation into those historical allegations, along with a code of conduct investigation.
“The BC RCMP investigation into these historical allegations is ongoing,” the RCMP said in an emailed statement.
“We can not confirm any specifics or details at this time out of respect for the processes underway.”
Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said delays in the case were troubling.
“These are very concerning allegations that have been made. I know that there’s a civil suit underway. I’m very concerned about the length of time that it has taken to get to this point,” he told Global News.
“I am confident that we will get to … the right place in this terrible series of events that has taken place and that the allegations will be dealt with.”
In 2006, retired Const. Lisa MacKenzie said she reported finding disturbing videotapes in her basement, which she once shared with her ex, also an RCMP officer. The tapes allegedly showed Indigenous girls being harassed by RCMP officers in Prince George.
On one, she said someone, “appeared to be in a personal vehicle and he didn’t appear to be in uniform.”
“I could hear the voice of another male in the truck talking to another young Indigenous female outside the vehicle, and appeared to be encouraging her to flash them.”
MacKenzie claims she reported the matter to a superior.
“I told him of the tapes and what I had found and he told me to hide them and to tell nobody, which is what I did,” she said.
Days later, she alleged the tapes were taken during an alleged break-in by her former spouse. He denied wrongdoing and was never charged.
In 2011, Staff Sgt. Garry Kerr said he also told superiors about the tapes and break-in. Still, nothing was done, prompting him to alert the RCMP’s Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.
“It’s simply stunning,” Kerr, who is now retired, told Global News.
“It’s unbelievable to think that the RCMP did nothing from when I made the first phone call in 2011. There was never any investigation.”
The RCMP’s Civilian Review and Complaints Commission looked at how the allegations were handled and determined ”no one in a position of authority in E division reasonably ensured a timely assessment of criminal misconduct or code of conduct breaches.”
No one ensured ”a reasonable investigation was conducted,” it added.
Kerr believes an independent investigation is needed. So does the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, which is calling for an Indigenous and civilian-led investigation.
The RCMP said it is “exploring ways to ensure transparency and accountability with respect to all of our actions taken, such as an independent or outside agency review”.
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