BCIT announces misconduct inquiry two months after sex assault claims
Video making students aware of ongoing investigation was posted last week
The British Columbia Institute of Technology published a cryptic video about student misconduct two months after an employee reported allegations of sexual assault to the Vancouver Police Department.
In the minute-long video — “Important Notice to Students, Faculty and Staff” — posted last Wednesday, Bill Dow, the associate vice-president of student services, said BCIT had been “made aware of allegations that a BCIT student’s off-campus activities may have violated BCIT’s policies.”
He made no mention of a criminal investigation.
“We take all allegations that our policies have been breached very seriously. When we received this information we followed our policies and initiated an investigation,” Dow said, looking into the camera.
“We want our campus community to know that we are reaching out to potentially impacted students and that our inquiry is ongoing. We cannot comment further regarding our ongoing inquiry.”
Photos on Facebook and a website associated with a BCIT program show that the student, who is also a BCIT employee, was still active with the institution as recently as Feb. 2.
BCIT hired human resources lawyer Roslyn Goldner to act as an independent investigator to look into a June 2015 incident at a Vancouver house party. She began meeting with witnesses in January.
“I don’t think I can talk about it at this point,” Goldner said, when contacted by the Sunday Province. “I would have to speak to the client about that.”
Written statements from an alleged victim and witnesses seen by the Sunday Province claim that the same male committed sexual assaults in
“We want our campus community to know that we are reaching out to potentially impacted students and that our inquiry is ongoing.”
- BILL DOW BCIT ASSOCIATE VP, STUDENT SERVICES
February, March and June 2015. The alleged victims are from Japan, and one of them was a BCIT student.
VPD detectives began to investigate the incidents in mid-December.
The Sunday Province sought comment from Dow, BCIT president Kathy Kinloch and interim human resources vice-president Paula Boddie, but none of them replied to repeated phone calls and emails.
A prepared statement sent by spokeswoman Kelly Friday and attributed to Dr. Tom Roemer, vicepresident, academic, said: “BCIT continues to take these allegations very seriously and our inquiry is ongoing. We have a responsibility to protect student confidentiality and privacy; therefore, we cannot provide any information beyond our statement yesterday.”
BCIT’s sexual assault policy applies on or off BCIT property or at BCIT-sponsored events, and applies if “the person who has experienced sexual assault and/or the person accused of sexual assault is acting in a capacity defined by their relationship to BCIT or there is an impact to the learning or working environment.”
Proceedings under the student code of conduct “may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with or following civil or criminal proceedings on or off campus, at the discretion of BCIT.”
According to the student code of conduct, “BCIT will apply discipline that may range from verbal warnings to suspension, and could include civil or criminal charges.”
The Dow video was posted the day after Kinloch’s five-minute video in which she admitted BCIT had been too slow to alert staff, students and faculty about an alleged November incident of voyeurism at its main campus in Burnaby.
“In the future, I can assure you that we will do a much better job of providing more information as we move forward,” Kinloch said in the video.
A man was arrested in November, accused by police of using a mirror and mobile phone to peer under neighbouring toilet stalls in a men’s washroom.
BCIT kept the incident secret for more than two months, until Kinloch’s Feb. 2 letter to the campus community.
In that letter, Kinloch acknowledged the RCMP’s “quick and thorough response” and encouraged the public to contact the RCMP with information about other incidents.
Jason Chieh-Sen Yang, 23, is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Vancouver on Feb. 23. Yang was charged Nov. 20 with secretly observing or recording nudity in a private place.
His bail conditions include staying away from BCIT and Richmond Centre and to not possess an electronic recording device or mirror outside of home.