A former staff sergeant with Wood Buffalo RCMP has been sentenced to 12 months probation.
Jason Keays, 44, was in court on Monday, July 29, on a charge of sexual assault, which counsel agreed to change to common assault.
Keays, who cried for much of the morning, became a member of the RCMP in 2000 and has held various positions throughout his years as a member.
Crown Prosecutor Ron Simenik opened the proceedings with an agreed statement of facts, saying Keays touched a female colleague without invitation or consent.
The charge stems from an incident at an off-duty Christmas party in November 2017.
Simenik said the incident left the victim “emotionally and psychologically distressed.”
The two were both off-duty at the party, which Defence Attorney Robb Beeman referred to as “juvenile”, where a video was taken and Keays allegedly “slaps her bum.”
The victim said in a statement that she wasn’t aware of what happened until she was told by others and watched a video of the incident.
Beeman suggested that while contact was made, the move was not threatening or done to intimidate the colleague, who was a subordinate.
While the victim said that nothing of an intimate nature ever happened in a work setting, Keays had rubbed her lower back on occasion while off-duty.
Keays was immediately suspended from the RCMP with pay, agreed to a no contact order with the victim and resigned effective January 2019.
In July 2018 Keays, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, entered an in-treatment program and hasn’t had alcohol since.
When called upon, Keays apologized to anyone who may have been affected by his actions.
Beeman requested a conditional sentence along with six months probation.
After an adjournment, Judge T. Achtymichuk sentenced Keays to 12 months probation on a suspended sentence, saying that his guilty plea and remorse were significant factors in his decision.
Achtymichuk reviewed 37 letters of reference that were submitted by the defence, most of which described Keays as a mentor and suggested the incident was out of character.
He said that there was little context on how the incident impacted the victim, but that the crime was on the lower end of the spectrum of crime of violence.
Along with 12 months probation, Keays must also give write a letter of apology, attend counselling or treatment as requested by his probation officer and will have no contact with the victim during the period of his probation.
