Charges have been filed against two officers of a Vancouver Island police department in connection with the sexual assault of a woman investigators described as “vulnerable.”
Vancouver Police Investigation Division Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson said the charges were laid as part of an ongoing investigation into the actions of two on-duty Central Saanich Police Service officers dating back to January 2019.
“Details of these arrests may shock many of you,” Wilson said at a Dec. 17 press conference. “They will reverberate throughout the community in which these officers served, and beyond. Allegations like these are deeply corrosive to the public trust police officers depend on to keep their communities safe.”
The BC Prosecution Service has charged Sgt. Matthew Ball, 43, with one count of sexual assault and one count of breach of trust for offences alleged to have occurred between Feb. 1, 2019, and Oct. 31, 2023, and 40-year-old Const. Ryan Johnston with one count of sexual assault for offences alleged to have occurred between Feb. 6, 2020, and March 8, 2020.
Ball has been an officer for approximately 20 years and a member of the Central Saanich force since 2016, Wilson said. Johnston has been a member since 2017.
Both officers were taken into custody on their way to work Dec. 17 and have since been released from custody. They are currently suspended with pay, Wilson said, adding that it is not believed the men were working together.
Wilson described the alleged relationship between the officers and a woman in her 20s as “a personal and sexual” one. Despite the complainant being an adult at the time, she was “in a vulnerable position,” Wilson added.
“The current evidence suggests that each officer formed separate intimate and inappropriate relationships with the woman at different times after meeting her during the course of their duties,” Wilson said. “Those relationships led to the alleged crimes for which the officers have now been charged.”
Central Saanich Police Service Chief Const. Ian Lawson said the force serves a small community where “many people know police officers by first name.” The estimated population of Central Saanich is 17,737, and the police service has 28 officers.
“While I would like to comment further, our priority is ensuring that the victim is cared for, and that the integrity of her case is not impacted. Therefore, we are unable to make further comment at this time.”
