Newly unsealed court documents reveal that a Surrey police officer who died by suicide at a Langley, B.C., gun range in February was under investigation on allegations of inappropriate communication with a 15-year-old girl.
Dilbag ‘Dylan’ Hothi, an officer with the Surrey Police Service (SPS) fatally shot himself in February. At the time, the SPS confirmed he had been off duty, suspended with pay pending a breach of trust investigation. Hothi previously served in the Canadian military and the Surrey RCMP.
Following a court challenge of a sealing order on files in the investigation, Global News has obtained a copy of police records detailing text messages Hothi allegedly exchanged with the teen, whom he had met on the job, along with a summary of her complaint to police.
The filings reveal the pair allegedly exchanged fully-clothed photographs, discussed drinking and getting “wild,” that Hothi allegedly told the teen about getting “horny,” and that he had allegedly invited the girl to meet in person twice.
The documents were filed with the court by a Surrey RCMP officer last November, as police sought to retain possession of Hothi’s personal and work cellphones, which were seized after the teen lodged a complaint about the officer in August 2022. Police also obtained records extracted from the teen’s phone and Hothi’s police notebook.
At the time the documents were filed with the court, police had only been able to extract the contents of Hothi’s work device, and it is not clear what, if any content was later discovered on his personal phone.
According to the documents, Hothi met the girl at her home while on police business attempting to locate her missing friend, and the pair exchanged phone numbers so she could keep him updated on information about her friend.
The teen told police that in that initial meeting she identified herself as 15 years old, while Hothi told her he was 26.
Over the following days, the filings state the pair exchanged dozens of text messages — initially via Hothi’s work cellphone, until he asked her to contact him on his personal phone.
Police technicians found no phone calls between the two on the work phone, but confirmed the two exchanged 40 texts over a two-day period.
In one conversation, Hothi told the girl “that she is cute and that he finds her cute,” according to the police summary of messages extracted from his phone.
At another point the teen initiated a game of “truth or dare” in which the pair exchanged clothed photographs. Over the course of their conversations, Hothi sent the teen three clothed photos of himself, according to the teen’s statement.
Two days after their initial meeting, Hothi allegedly asked the girl to meet in person, but she pretended to fall asleep to avoid the meeting, according to her police complaint.
After the girl sent Hothi a video of herself drinking, he initiated a conversation about getting drunk, according to her statement.
“Hothi asked (the complainant) if she gets wild when she is drunk, which she confirmed she did,” the documents state, adding that she explained that to her getting “wild” meant drunk and being unaware of what is going on around you.
“Hothi told (the complainant) that he gets ‘wild and horny’ when he drinks,” the report states. Messages reviewed from Hothi’s phone subsequently corroborated the conversation.
“(The complainant) initially thought that meeting up with Hothi would be okay because he just wanted to hang out but after he said he gets ‘horny’ she thought he might do something bad,” the documents state.
The teen told police Hothi again proposed the pair meet up on Aug. 14. The teen suggested they meet at 8 p.m., but Hothi said it was too early and wanted to meet after 10 p.m., and that they would play truth or dare in person.
The teen told police she had arranged to have friend follow her in case he “did something bad,” but that when she tried to reply to him the messages didn’t go through and she thought he’d blocked her number.
That night she went to police to file a report and show them the messages she’d exchanged with Hothi.
On Aug. 16, Hothi was arrested and his phones were seized. He was released on a promise to appear in court in November, along with an order not to contact the teen.
None of the allegations in the documents have been proven in court.
On Feb. 8, 2023 Hothi took his own life.
Langley RCMP had deployed officers to the gun range in response to reports of a man in distress, but a report by the Independent Investigations Office later found that Hothi was unaware they were on site, and that police actions had not contributed to his death.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 9-1-1 for immediate help.
For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca.
Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.
- Canada’s most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. over Toronto homicide
- 4th youth charged with murder in killing of 16-year-old outside Halifax mall
- Windows shattered, property damaged as May Day protests turn violent in Montreal
- What we know — and don’t — in Ontario’s deadly Highway 401 police pursuit crash
Comments