Ottawa

A military judge has sentenced today a former Canadian Armed Forces medical technician, Retired Petty Officer 2nd Class James Wilks, to 30 months imprisonment following a second court martial that found him guilty of 10 sexual assault and 15 breach of trust charges.

Quick Facts

• The presiding Military Judge, Lieutenant-Colonel Louis-Vincent d’Auteuil, sentenced Retired Petty Officer 2nd Class James Wilks to 30 months imprisonment. The Military Judge also issued an order requiring the offender to submit bodily substances and register to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act for life. These two provisions are mandatory when found guilty of sexual assault.
• Mr. Wilks submitted an application for release from imprisonment pending appeal which was heard by the court this afternoon. The Military Judge has ruled that Mr. Wilks will be released from imprisonment pending appeal. The details regarding when the appeal will take place have yet to be determined.
• Standing Court Martial proceedings against Mr. Wilks began on September 25, 2013, in Gatineau, Quebec.
• On November 15, 2013, Mr. Wilks was found guilty of 25 charges. Of the 10 sexual assault and 16 breach of trust charges against Mr. Wilks, the court martial found Mr. Wilks:
• guilty of 10 charges of sexual assault, contrary to section 130 of the National Defence Act and pursuant to section 271 of theCriminal Code; and
• guilty of 15 charges of breach of trust by a public officer, contrary to section 130 of the National Defence Act and pursuant to section 122 of the Criminal Code.
• Sixteen complainants testified during the trial, which took place in Gatineau, Quebec, and in London, Ontario.
• The incidents for which Mr. Wilks was found guilty occurred between 2003 and 2009, while he was performing medical examinations in Thunder Bay and London, Ontario. Mr. Wilks used the medical exams to see and in some cases touch the women's breasts stating it was part of the standard physical, which it was not.
• Mr. Wilks was previously found guilty of one count of sexual assault and four counts of breach of trust by a public officer, and sentenced to nine months in prison in December 2011. After military police made a public appeal for victims to come forward in September 2010, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service charged Mr. Wilks with additional offences.

src:news.gc.ca