Warning: This story contains details of sexual abuse and may be distressing to some readers. The name of the woman who filed the civil claim has not been named in the story.
A former Campbell River RCMP officer is being ordered to pay $867,000 in damages after a judge ruled he "groomed and manipulated" a teenage girl into an abusive sexual relationship in the late 1970s, according to court documents released on July 11.
At a civil trial in April, the plaintiff, who is now in her early sixties, testified that at 15 years old, that officer, William Pound, a 30-something police officer at the time, engaged in "increasingly invasive grooming actions." This eventually led to sexual intercourse just after she turned 16.
The plaintiff described instances when they had met each other by chance in a Campbell River neighbourhood when she was "walking her dog, or when Mr. Pound was driving past the (family's) house and saw (her) outside," wrote Justice Amy D. Francis in the ruling. "They chatted on these occasions, and before long Mr. Pound started paying (her) compliments, such as 'I think you are pretty' and 'I have been thinking about you'."
This, the plaintiff testified, led to "kissing and touching." Pound also told her they had to wait until her 16th birthday to have sexual intercourse, otherwise it would be statutory rape.
Defendant denies allegations, claiming he "barely knew" her
In his testimony, Pound admitted to having a sexual relationship with the plaintiff, but said it did not happen until she was 20. He asserted they had sexual contact three times, and denied that he should be held liable for sexual battery since she consented.
Many times during his testimony, Pound referred to the lawsuit as "extortion," alleging that, after years lost to alcoholism, the plaintiff needed to find money. The 鈥淢e Too鈥� movement was the 鈥渙pportunity,鈥� he claimed.
Pound鈥檚 version of events about the sexual relationship with the plaintiff was "brief and lacking in any detail ... this is because he claims he barely knew (her)."
"He described her as a neighbour, not a friend and not a romantic partner. He testified that, before they had sex in 1984, he had only spoken to (her) a few times and didn鈥檛 know anything about her," Francis wrote.
The woman struck the judge as a "careful and understated witness," who did not seek to vilify the defendant, even though it would have been in her interests to do so.
In contrast, Pound was a "challenging witness," the judge said. He was evasive in answering questions and provided a "bizarre and far-fetched" account of what happened.
Pound also divulged details of the plaintiff's life, such as the car she got on her 16th birthday, her parents' attitudes towards sex and alcohol, and their atheist beliefs, all of which were "inconsistent with his testimony that (the plaintiff) and her family were distant neighbours whom he barely knew," Francis wrote.
The defendant "consistently demonstrated a callous lack of regard for (the plaintiff) and her suffering. Not only does he deny responsibility for the damage he inflicted, but in the course of his testimony, he made gratuitous, irrelevant statements, the only purpose of which could be to embarrass and humiliate (the plaintiff.)"
Judge rules plaintiff suffered psychological anguish, pain and humiliation
When the judge looked at whether Pound had committed sexual battery by having a sexual relationship with the plaintiff, she said she struggled to see their relationship as anything but exploitative.
The judge concluded it was clear Pound "exploited her age, immaturity, and lack of sophistication for his own sexual gratification," by working his way into the "life of a shy and socially unsophisticated 15-year-old girl, starting with compliments and escalating their interactions from flirtation, to physical contact, to sex."
"He gave (the plaintiff) alcohol, talked to her about problems in his marriage, and shared confidential information obtained through his position as an RCMP officer." These things made the plaintiff feel like an adult and encouraged an "unrealistic belief" that he was going to leave his wife and marry her, the judge said.
The judge also sided with the plaintiff, who argued that her alcohol abuse developed as a 鈥渕aladaptive coping strategy to deal with the anguish" of the relationship with Pound, leading to a loss of income from 1990 to 2022.
In the ruling, the judge ordered Pound to pay to $817,000 in total, which included $200,000 for non-pecuniary damages, including pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, along with punitive damages of $50,000 and $567,000 for loss of income.
