Victims advocates say lengthy sexual assault investigations not unusual after former UBC athletes charged
Sexual assault charges against three former UBC athletes are now making their way through the court system, more than two years after the initial complaint to police.
Former UBC Thunderbird football players 24-year-old Ben Cummings, 25-year-old Trivel Pinto, and 26-year-old Treymont Levy are charged with sexual assault. Levy also faces an additional charge of voyeurism.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
UBC RCMP said they received a 911 call on Nov. 5, 2018 from a woman who reported being assaulted by three men at a residence on Acadia Road in Vancouver.
“The University RCMP immediately launched an investigation and sought assistance and expertise from the BC RCMP Major Crime Section (MCS), who took conduct of the investigation” the RCMP said in a news release.
Victims advocate Hilla Kerner told CTV News it’s not unusual for sexual assault investigations to take years.
“We believe that its a matter of priority,” Kerner said. “For many young victims, they put their lives on hold for years until the criminal justice system responds and acts and there is a trial.”
Kerner says in her experience, charges often do not result from such investigations.
Last year, the mother of a young woman who reported being raped at a UBC frat party in 2018 spoke out after the Crown decided not to lay charges.
“Unfortunately, most cases will never result in charges,” Kerner said. “In British Columbia, we have a particular problem of a very high threshold. The prosecutor will only take cases that they’re confident that they will get a conviction.”
The B.C. Prosecution Service said the standard to approve charges was not met on that file. Kerner said the case was reviewed by Crown again, but they reached the same conclusion.
The case involving the former UBC football players returns to Richmond provincial court June 16.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.