Denwood, Alberta – Department of National Defence

A military judge today sentenced Major David Yurczyszyn, former Commanding Officer of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta, to a reduction in rank from Major to Captain following a standing court martial that found him guilty of sexual assault and drunkenness.

Quick Facts

• The presiding Military Judge, Colonel Michael Gibson, issued an order requiring the offender to provide bodily substances for forensic DNA analysis, and an order requiring Major Yurczyszyn to comply with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act for 20 years. Both of these provisions are non-discretionary when found guilty of sexual assault.
• Standing court martial proceedings against Major Yurczyszyn began on April 7, 2014, in Denwood, Alberta.
• Of two charges which were preferred by the Director of Military Prosecutions on July 16, 2013, Major Yurczyszyn is found:
• guilty of one count of sexual assault, an offence under Section 130 of the National Defence Act, contrary to Section 271(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada; and
• guilty of one count of drunkenness, an offence under Section 97 of the National Defence Act.
• The offenses for which Major Yurczyszyn are found guilty result from an incident where he touched the victim’s breast at a party on Remembrance Day in Wainwright, Alberta, in 2012.
• Canadian Armed Forces members are held to the highest level of professional and personal conduct.  Members in positions of leadership are expected to exemplify those standards.