Calgary Mountie forced to resign over texts sent to teenage lacrosse player
An RCMP officer has been forced to resign over texts he sent in 2019 to a 16-year-old girl he coached in a Rocky View County, Alta., lacrosse league.
RCMP Const. Dan Martin, 42, was found guilty on Wednesday of discreditable conduct under the RCMP Act for concerning texts he sent in 2019.
Martin originally registered to coach lacrosse in 2016.
According to John Kilbride, the director of marketing and interim president for the Alberta Lacrosse Association (ALA), Martin was a parent coach.
Kilbride said that Martin coached a team of 16-year-and under players in the Rocky View Lacrosse Association, along with the mother of the victim, in a co-coaching role known as the "Rule of Two," which he explained is to ensure that no player is ever left alone with an adult.
According to Kilbride, the victim was serving as an assistant coach to Martin, despite not being certified or authorized to be on the bench.
On a ride home from an event, the victim revealed the texts to another adult, who relayed the information to the victim's mother.
When the mother became aware of the texts, she expressed concern to the president of the Rocky View Lacrosse Association that she felt they were intended to groom her daughter.
Kilbride who just took over seven months ago, said the Rocky View Lacrosse Association president determined that the texts were beyond the association's standard disciplinary practice and reported it to the RCMP.
Martin was suspended by the lacrosse association within 24 hours. The RCMP recommended the family file a formal report, which they did.
"When the Alberta RCMP were made aware of the situation, we immediately initiated an internal process that led to a conduct hearing where allegations of Discreditable Conduct (Sec. 7.1, RCMP Act) were established against Const. Daniel Martin," said K Division RCMP media manager Fraser Logan, in an email to CTV News.
Martin has 14 days to appeal the RCMP's decision.
"As we are now within an appeal period, it would be inappropriate for the Alberta RCMP to comment further."
It wasn't clear whether the relationship between Martin and the lacrosse player extended beyond the texts.
Kilbride said when he learned of the incident, he was "mortified, disgusted and saddened."
"One of our core principles is we're supposed to be protecting, nurturing both mentally and physically the athletes in our charge and this is a violation of the worst degree to creep into this world and then just committing the most egregious breaks of trust you can imagine," he said.
"It's really kind of our worst nightmare."
Asked whether she continued to play lacrosse, Kilbride said he wasn't sure, but would be in a different league if she was.
"She would be in major women’s lacrosse now (17 and older). This age group has been running very little programming during our COVID return-to-play so it is likely the victim has not played since 2019. Note that I nor our executive director know who the victim is as we have tried our best to maintain the family's privacy and at this time."
No criminal charges have been filed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.