Riders release Messam after voyeurism charge
REGINA — Jerome Messam’s second stint with the Saskatchewan Roughriders has come to an abrupt end after the Canadian running back was charged with voyeurism.
The Riders announced via Twitter on Monday that the running back had been released “after he has been criminally charged following an incident in November 2016.” The Canadian Football League said in a separate statement that the charge was voyeurism.
The league said it will not register a contract for Messam should any team attempt to sign him. Both the Roughriders and CFL said they will not have further comment as the matter is now before the court.
Messam was a Calgary Stampeder in 2016 and a Calgary police spokesperson said the charge “relates to the alleged videotaping of a consensual sexual encounter with a victim.
“It is alleged the videotaping was done without the person’s consent.”
The adult complainant came to police in April after being told Messam had the alleged video, which police said had not been posted anywhere.
Messam was charged Sunday, police said.
The six-foot-three, 240-pound Messam ran for just 206 yards on 52 carries (3.9-yard average) in six regular season appearances this season.
Messam rejoined the Riders as a free agent this off-season after spending parts of three campaigns with the Stampeders (2015-17). Messam registered consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaigns (1,198 yards in ’16, 1,016 in ’17) with the Stamps before returning to Saskatchewan.
Messam, a 33-year-old from Brampton, Ont., spent the ’14-15 seasons with Saskatchewan before being dealt to Calgary in October 2015.
Under the Criminal Code, voyeurism is when someone “surreptitiously, observes — including by mechanical or electronic means — or makes a visual recording of a person who is in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The Criminal Code also covers distributing recordings from such offences. Punishment is up to five years in prison.