Supreme Court dismisses Newfoundland police officer’s appeal over sexual assault

A police officer from Newfoundland who was found guilty of sexual assault in 2014 will go back to jail after his appeal was rejected by the highest court in the country.

The highest court in Canada said no to Douglas Snelgrove’s request to appeal his conviction. It ends a ten-year legal battle involving a police officer, lawyers, and a young woman known as Jane Doe in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Snelgrove was working as a police officer and wearing his uniform. His car was parked in front of a courthouse in downtown St. John was at the Supreme Court in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2014 when a woman asked him for a ride home.

Court papers say that Snelgrove took the woman to her house, but he didn’t tell his work where he was going or that he was with a woman by himself. Snelgrove assisted the woman in entering her apartment through a basement window, as stated in the complaint.

The person who filed the complaint said that Snelgrove did not leave the property right away and assaulted her when she was too drunk to agree to sex. In 2021, a jury at the court in Newfoundland and Labrador found him guilty.

Jane Doe said that she went to a police officer for help because she was afraid that a taxi driver might hurt her.

The case went to court three times. Snelgrove was found not guilty at first, but then the decision was changed on appeal. Another trial was stopped because the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict. Snelgrove was found guilty in 2021.

The Supreme Court of Canada did not give a reason for turning down his appeal, which is normal for that kind of decision. He went to the highest court because he felt left out of important talks between the judge and his lawyers during his trial.

The police officer has not been working or getting paid since 2015 from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Snelgrove’s appeal to be cleared of criminal charges has been denied, so now there will be a complaint filed against him at the police force’s public complaints tribunal.

“The Chief of Police has to lead the public complaint process for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary when it involves the same topic as a criminal charge,” a spokesperson for the police force explained.

“The Chief cannot talk about this case to keep the public complaint process fair. ”

The person who made the complaint said she was 21 years old when the attack happened. The woman’s name and other information about her cannot be published because of a court order.

During the trial in Newfoundland and Labrador, people in St. protested oftenJohn is showing his support for the woman and is upset about the court’s decision to let the officer go free.