Kelowna Mountie accused of sending explicit messages to assault victim charged
Posted March 10, 2022 10:41 pm.
Last Updated March 10, 2022 10:45 pm.
A Kelowna RCMP officer is facing charges in connection with allegations he sent sexually explicit messages to a victim while he was investigating her case.
Const. Sean Eckland has been charged with two counts of obstruction of justice “in connection with the officer’s involvement following an allegation of intimate partner violence in 2018 in Lake Country, B.C,” according to the BC Prosecution Service.
The Kelowna Capital News sheds more light on the allegations that led to these charges being laid Thursday.
The accused in the 2018 case, Lonnie Noel Smith, was ultimately sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman. The Capital News describes the assault as brutal, prolonged, and leaving the victim with lasting injuries.
“At the time of sentencing, Crown stated it likely would’ve sought a harsher sentence if it weren’t for external complications, which centres around allegations that Eckland had sent sexually explicit text messages to the victim while investigating the case,” The Capital News reports.
The prosecution service says the charges were approved by an experienced Crown counsel with no connection to the officer.
RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says Eckland remains suspended with pay and a code of conduct investigation is ongoing.
