Inappropriate conduct

Former cadet claims officer now facing court martial had relationship with her when she was 12

A former cadet says she was only 12 when she had a sexual relationship with a Canadian Armed Forces officer who is facing a standing court martial for inappropriate behaviour. Sophie-Anne Bergeron, 41, of Gatineau, Que. said Monday that Capt. Todd Bannister, then a young officer, quickly started showing her a lot of attention when she joined the 148 Charlottetown Army Cadets around 1988. Bergeron says she was a minor, and Bannister, who was 18 or 19 years old at the time, would oversee cadet band practices, drills and weekend camp outings. “He was attractive, and everyone pretty much had a crush on him,’’ she says.

“He was flirting with everyone, but it was fairly centred on me.’’

Bergeron says she would sneak away with Bannister at breaks and he would write her love letters.

The roughly year-long relationship became very intimate, but she did reject Bannister’s efforts to have intercourse. Bergeron says her parents warned Bannister many times to stay away.

He did not, so Bergeron was pulled out of the cadets. When the relationship continued, Bergeron’s parents sent her to a private Catholic school in Montreal. Bergeron says she held great resentment towards her parents for many years, blaming them for denying her a special relationship. However, she says recent media coverage alleging Bannister acted inappropriately with other female cadets while he was commander of the 168 Charlottetown Army Cadets has sharply altered that view.

“It sort of hit me that I was not the only one and I was not that special,’’ she says.

“I guess it makes me think that it’s not quite surprising, I guess. It’s just a bit difficult. When I read it, I just felt anger. It sort of changed my whole early life.’’ Bannister faces nine charges: two charges of behaving in a disgraceful manner; six charges of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline and one charge of neglect to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

The charges stem from at least four incidents alleged to have taken place between March 20, 2013 and June 20, 2015.

Rob Taylor, spokesman for the Office of the Judge Advocate General, which oversees the administration of military justice, says all the charges deal with inappropriate language, including sexual innuendo.

Bergeron adds that she reconnected with Bannister through Facebook about 10 years ago.

She claims Bannister, who was married then and still is today, offered to meet her in Ottawa a few weeks later. However, she was shocked when he later flashed her during a video chat.

She has had no communication with Bannister since.

Bergeron says, upon reflection, that her relationship with Bannister when she was just a young cadet had a profoundly negative impact on her life, leaving her resentful towards her parents.

“It also stopped me from having a normal relationship with my peers,’’ added Bergeron, who is divorced.

After learning of the charges against Bannister, she apologized to her mother and wished she did the same to her father, who died five years ago.

“This (early relationship with Bannister) was always a bone of contention,’’ she says. “I told her (mother) I was sorry and they were always right and I guess that touched her a lot.’’

Bergeron says she will “definitely follow’’ how the court martial plays out. Military Judge Lt.-Col. LouisVincent d’Auteuil will preside over Bannister’s trial, which begins in Charlottetown on Jan. 15.