Former Mountie found guilty in five indecent assault cases

KAMLOOPS — A B.C. Supreme Court judge has found a former RCMP officer guilty of five counts of indecently assaulting five boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Alan Davidson was found not guilty of two other charges of indecent assault involving two other complainants by Justice Sheri Ann Donegan.

Court heard Davidson was in his 20s and coached hockey, basketball and baseball at the time of the offences and served as an auxiliary Mountie before later becoming an RCMP officer in Saskatchewan.

During his trial in Kamloops in September, the complainants testified that the assaults included sexual touching and oral sex.

A publication ban in the case protects the identity of the complainants, who are now in their 50s but were mostly in their early teens at the time of the assaults.

Donegan’s judgment was posted online earlier this week after she found Davidson guilty of the charges on Dec. 19.

In her judgment, Donegan refers to one of the men “visibly shaking” during his testimony, and says another “exhibited what appeared to be genuine emotions of shame, embarrassment and sadness.”

Two of the complainants described Davidson as a mentor to them when they were boys.

Donegan said in order to find Davidson guilty, the Crown had to prove the accused applied force to the complainant, that the act was indecent and that the complainant did not consent. At the time, consent to sexual activity with an adult could be given at the age of 14.

The defence argued that the complainants’ memories were unreliable because of the amount of time that had passed.

In finding Davidson not guilty of two indecent assault charges, Donegan said the Crown was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that consent wasn’t given.

The charge of indecent assault in the Criminal Code dates back to a time before the crime of sexual assault was created.

Police began their investigation following a complaint in November 2012 and laid charges after a 16-month investigation.

Davidson was arrested in March 2014 in Calgary where he was living and working for Alberta’s sheriff services.

The Mounties have said he served at RCMP detachments in Saskatchewan and Alberta from February 1982 until he retired in August 1996.