Former senator Don Meredith charged with sexual assault
A former Canadian senator is facing sexual assault charges in connection with incidents that allegedly took place nearly a decade ago.
In a press release issued on Saturday, Ottawa police said Don Meredith, 58, of Toronto, is charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of criminal harassment in connection with alleged incidents in 2013 and 2014, which police say were reported by an adult woman.
An Ottawa police source tells CTV News the man charged is the former senator.
Meredith was charged Saturday and released on a promise to appear in court.
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Meredith, a Pentecostal minister, to the Senate in 2010. Meredith was expelled from the Conservative caucus in 2015 when allegations of inappropriate behaviour surfaced. He later joined the Independent Senators Group as member of its chamber coordination team, but was removed from a leadership position within that group in 2017.
Meredith resigned in 2017 following an ethics committee report that declared him unfit to serve over allegations he had developed an extra-marital relationship with a 16-year-old girl that eventually became sexual—once shortly before she turned 18 and twice afterwards.
Meredith acknowledged the affair, but insisted he did not have intercourse with the girl until after she turned 18. He resigned before an expected attempt to expel him from the Red Chamber.
CTV News Ottawa reached out to the lawyer who represented Meredith as a senator but has yet to receive a reply.
Meredith was also found by the Senate’s ethics officer, in a report released after his resignation, to have created a toxic workplace environment by harassing, bullying, and threatening staff. In 2020, the senate paid his former staffers $498,000 in compensation.
Ottawa police say they are concerned there may be other victims and are asking anyone with information to contact them at 613-236-1222 ext. 5944, or by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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