THUNDER BAY – A retired CF Petty Officer faces more charges over incidents that happened during his career. The Canadian Forces (CF) National Investigation Service charged on Wednesday a former CF medical technician for incidents alleged to have occurred while he performed medical exams at a Naval Reserve unit in Thunder Bay and at the CF Recruiting Centre in London.
Petty Officer 2nd class (Retired) James Wilks was charged with the following:
- eight counts of sexual assault, contrary to section 130 of the National Defence Act, and pursuant to section 271 of the Criminal Code; and
- nine counts of breach of trust, contrary to section 130 of the National Defence Act, and contrary to section 122 of the Criminal Code.
It is alleged that between 2002 and 2009, the accused performed medical examinations on CF recruits and serving members contrary to prescribed medical procedures. In September 2010 and January 2012, the CF National Investigation Service laid a total of 20 charges against Petty Officer 2nd class Wilks (Retired) in relation to similar incidents. The alleged victims of these new charges came forward after the Military Police made a public appeal for other possible victims to step forward.
“The Canadian Forces takes all allegations of sexual assault seriously and will investigate all allegations to determine the facts, analyse the evidence and, if warranted, lay the appropriate charges,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Frei, Commanding Officer of the CF National Investigation Service.
The CF National Investigation Service is an independent Military Police unit with a mandate to investigate serious and sensitive matters in relation to National Defence property, Department of National Defence employees and CF personnel serving in Canada and abroad.
