Sailor who told Commons committee about Officer X now being harassed
White also testified he believed there was a danger of further risk since Officer X had a civilian job in which he has direct influence over children.
The sailor who told a parliamentary committee about a navy coverup surrounding an individual known as Officer X has received harassing emails including a veiled threat he would be visited at home because of his testimony.
Navy Lt. Patrick White received the emails shortly after he provided testimony in front of the House of Commons committee on National Defence about the officer who he described as a “serial sexual misconduct offender.”
White told the committee during his April 17 appearance that Royal Canadian Navy leaders have covered up the actions of the man who is referred to in some internal military records as Officer X.
That officer, who serves in the naval reserves, has a 14-year history of such abuse, said White, a lawyer who has been trying for five years to get naval leadership to take action.
Citing internal military reports, Ottawa Citizen also reported in March that Officer X has faced multiple allegations of harassment and police investigations since 2006. In addition, a female member of the Canadian Forces filed an allegation of sexual misconduct against Officer X in 2018.
White testified to the committee that military police had concluded there was enough evidence to charge Officer X with sexual assault, but instead the navy’s leadership decided he needed mentorship rather than punishment.
One of the emails sent to White after his testimony contained various insults and claimed the public didn’t care about the Officer X issue. The email contained a veiled threat warning White that he was going to receive a visit at his home because of his testimony.
Another email claimed White himself would be investigated by military police because of the details in the original article on Officer X that appeared in Ottawa Citizen. White, however, had no involvement in that article. He has declined to provide comment.
An email sent to White after the original Officer X article appeared on March 12 in Ottawa Citizen also continued insults and specifically mentioned one of his family members.
National Defence spokeswoman Andrée-anne Poulin confirmed White’s Ottawabased unit is investigating the emails and is “working with LT(N) White to provide him with guidance, advice and a path forward. Naval Reserve Headquarters is also engaged in the matter.”
Military police, however, have not conducted an official investigation into the harassing emails and has no plans to do so.
White’s naval reserve unit is also looking into who may have accessend hdis personal information that was included in the harassing emails.
But Poulin also noted limitations with the naval reserve personnel file system “render it impossible to determine what specific information was accessed or retained, and what the purpose of accessing the information was for.”
White is assigned to HMCS Carleton, the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve Division in Ottawa.
Liberal MP John Mckay, chairman of the commons defence committee, said members of the public have every right to expect their comments before parliament will not generate any intimidating or harassing reactions. “If the threat rises to a level to a level that requires parliamentary protection then the committee can institute parliamentary protection,” he said in an interview.
White outlined the ongoing problems to MPS on the committee about the alleged coverup to protect Officer X. Those naval reservists who tried to come forward with evidence against Officer X faced repercussions from naval reserve leaders who warned them they could face charges of mutiny and treason, White testified. “These threats of high-order criminal charges were made in order to silence and intimidate them.”
White also testified he believed there was a danger of further risk since Officer X had a civilian job in which he has direct influence over children.
White also told the committee that Vice-admiral Angus Topshee, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, was also approached last year by a civilian who outlined in detail the concerns about Officer X.
After White’s testimony, Topshee responded to Ottawa Citizen by noting misconduct of any kind is unacceptable. “The specifics of what this particular member has raised, cannot be discussed; we cannot disclose details of the specific incidences or what administrative actions have been taken due to the privacy of the members involved as described by the Privacy Act,” Topshee added in his statement.
But documents obtained by Ottawa Citizen tell a different story. A team of civilian investigators brought in to look at the matter in 2022 heard no action had been taken against Officer X even though sailors had repeatedly informed the navy about the allegations.