COP BEHIND BARS FACES NEW CHARGES
York region officer already serving time after being found guilty of sexual assault is currently suspended without pay
Six months after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 21-year old in the back of his police cruiser, a York Regional Police officer has been charged with two more counts of sexual assault and two counts of breach of trust by a public officer.
Young Min Von Seefried was arrested on Thursday while already behind bars, serving out the 16-month sentence he received for the first assault. Despite his current incarceration and last fall’s guilty verdict, the YRP officer still has yet to be terminated from the force.
Until a tribunal can be convened, he’s suspended without pay.
“Nothing has changed from our end at this point in time,” York Const. Andy Pattenden said on Thursday, when asked about von Seefried’s employment within the force.
“Right now he’s suspended without pay and has been since he was convicted,” Pattenden said. “We won’t be saying anything further but it’s our professional standards that would be overseeing any sort of York Regional Police investigation.
Pattenden said that such situations are governed by the Police Service Act.
The new case against von Seefried began last fall, when the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) — an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving officers where death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault have taken place — received a call from York police.
As Justice Marquis Felix deliberat- ed von Seefried’s fate, York police had released a photo of the officer with concern that there may be other victims.
York police informed the SIU on Nov. 2 that they had received complaints of a sexual nature against one of their officers — revealed to be von Seefried. A 26-year-old woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted between August and December of 2014.
The SIU then invoked its mandate and began an investigation.
The case culminated in von Seefried’s arrest on Thursday by members of the SIU. He was taken from his cell to the courthouse in Newmarket, where his bail hearing has been adjourned until July 13.
Under the Criminal Code, von Seefried is now facing two new counts of sexual assault, contrary to s. 271, and two counts of breach of trust by public officer, contrary to s. 122.
In the interests of a fair trial, the SIU is declining to offer further comment on the case.
When contacted by the Star, the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario deferred comment to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, who declined to comment on von Seefried’s employment status or the current location of his incarceration.
In Ontario, police officers — with the exception of a chief or deputy chief of a police force — must be paid during a suspension caused by suspicion or charges of an offence under Canadian law or that of a province/ territory. Officers must also be paid if they’re suspended for suspicion of misconduct.
If an officer is convicted of an offence and sentenced to a prison term, the officer “may” be suspended without pay, even if a conviction or sentence is under appeal.
Earlier this year, a survey of more than 100 police boards expressed interest in giving chiefs more freedom to suspend their officers without pay, if those officers have been accused of serious misconduct.