Local RCMP officer Chad Vance faces trial in 2021 for sex assault

Photo: Contributed

Chad Vance

UPDATE: 12:55 p.m.

While Const. Chad Vance has been suspended with pay since last year, after he was charged with sexual assault in June 2019, he is no longer being paid by the RCMP. 

After confirming on Tuesday that Const. Vance remained suspended with pay, S/Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of the RCMP's E Division said Friday he is now suspended without pay. 

S/Sgt. Shoihet could not say when his pay was revoked, only that she was notified of the change Friday morning. 

An internal RCMP conduct review hearing, to determine the future of Vance's employment with the RCMP, is expected later this year. 

Vance will face trial for the alleged sexual assault next February. 

ORIGINAL: 4 a.m.

A Central Okanagan RCMP officer charged with sexual assault won't face trial until February.

Chad Vance, a member of the RCMP Southeast District General Investigation Section, was suspended with pay last year, after he was charged with a 2015 sexual assault in June 2019.

Vance is alleged to have committed the sexual assault against a person in Kelowna from July 1 to July 31 of 2015, but the specifics of the allegation are unclear at this time.

Vance was initially scheduled to begin a four-day trial on Aug. 31, but those trial dates were cancelled after Vance secured a new lawyer last month.

Last week, a pre-trial conference was held for Vance's case in Kelowna court, but the hearing was not open to the public. Most pretrial conferences were held in open court prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, unless they were ordered closed by a judge.

But now, these hearings are being held “off the record,” so judges can “proactively canvass resolution with the parties in order to avoid setting trial dates,” the Office of the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia told Castanet in an email.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic effectively closed most courts in the province last spring, courts have seen a backlog of cases, and court time is now at even more of a premium than it once was.

The Provincial Court of BC has mandated these confidential pre-trial conferences for all criminal cases, and judges have been encouraged to “proactively canvass resolution in order to avoid setting trial dates.” This “resolution” typically comes in the form of a plea deal.

Crown prosecutors have also been encouraged to “be reasonable and realistic in their sentencing positions and exercise 'enhanced discretion for resolving individual cases.'”

For now, it appears Vance's case has not come to a resolution, and this week, his four-day trial was set for Feb. 16, 2021. 

Meanwhile, he remains suspended with pay from the RCMP, but S/Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of the RCMP's E Division says his employment with the RCMP is “subject to continuous review and assessment.”

An internal RCMP conduct hearing to determine the future of his employment is expected later this year.

Vance was also charged with a 2018 assault, but that charge was stayed by the Crown in November 2019.