Jonny Wakefield
Published: December 13, 2021
-Edmonton Journal
An Edmonton police officer charged with sexual assault following an investigation by Alberta’s police watchdog allegedly sought sex from female victims of crime, court documents allege.
Last Wednesday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) charged Const. Hunter Robinz with sexual assault, unauthorized use of a computer database and two separate counts of breach of trust.
According to court documents obtained by Postmedia, one of the breaches of trust relates to communications Robinz allegedly made to eight women, including the woman he is accused of sexually assaulting.
Specifically, Robinz is accused of “initiating communications with female complainants or victims of crime … for the purpose of pursuing a sexual relationship with these women,” the charge states.
Postmedia has reached out to Robinz for comment. The charges have not been proven in court.
Robinz, 36, first came to ASIRT’s attention in 2019. In a Thursday news release , ASIRT said Robinz is accused of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman while in uniform and on duty on June 29, 2019.
ASIRT said Robinz initially met the woman on a previous call for service.
During that investigation, ASIRT uncovered evidence suggesting criminal conduct in Robinz’s “on-duty contact with women” going back to March 2017.
ASIRT said Robinz’s alleged actions “breached the standard of responsibility and conduct required as a police officer,” adding that he used his position “for a purpose other than the public good.”
However, ASIRT did not specifically state that Robinz is accused of pursuing sexual relationships with crime victims.
Allegedly sought personal info from databases
The court documents contain additional information about the other charges facing Robinz.
The second breach of trust charge and the unauthorized use of a computer database charge relate to searches Robinz allegedly made between Sept. 22, 2018 and July 24, 2019 on two police databases: the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and the Edmonton Police Reporting and Occurrence System (EPROS).
He is specifically accused of using CPIC to search for the name of a man, as well as using the databases “to access personal information about individuals and addresses for reasons unrelated to police occurrences or police investigations.”
Robinz was released on conditions after his arrest by ASIRT. His first court appearance on the charges is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2022, in Edmonton provincial court.
Last week was not the first time Robinz has been charged with a crime.
When ASIRT announced the charges against Robinz, Edmonton police had already suspended him without pay following an unrelated “off-duty incident” on March 12 that led Parkland County RCMP to charge him with assault and unsafe storage of a firearm.
According to court documents, the firearm in question was a carbine. The charges do not state if the weapon was police-issue. Robinz is scheduled to face trial on those charges in Stony Plain provincial court in June 2022.
Edmonton police said Thursday that Robinz was “immediately removed” from public-facing duties after the sexual assault allegation, and that he remains suspended without pay.
“In light of the pending Criminal Code prosecutions and Professional Standards Branch investigation, there will be no further comment at this time,” spokeswoman Cheryl Voordenhout said.
