Wainwright, Alta., military base commander charged with sexual assault

A Canadian army officer who dodged charges of making pornography more than a decade ago is ensnared in another sexual accusation.

Maj. David Yurczyszyn, commander of the Canadian Forces training base at Wainwright, Alta., has been relieved of command and charged with one count of sexual assault under the Criminal Code, as well as drunkenness and disgraceful conduct under the National Defence Act, the military said in a news release.

The alleged offences took place on Nov. 11, 2012, Remembrance Day, but no details of what led to the charges were released.

“All members of the Canadian Armed Forces are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate and professional manner at all times,” Maj. Kevin Cadman, deputy commanding officer of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, said in the news release.

“The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service and the Military Police consider these charges to be significant and have taken action accordingly.”

The charges remain to be proven in court, but the army's senior officer in Western Canada reacted swiftly to the allegations.

“The actions of Maj. Yurczyszyn have caused me to lose confidence in this officer’s ability to effectively exercise the functions of command,” Brig-Gen. Christian Juneau, Commander Land Force Western Area, said in a statement reported by The Canadian Press.

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“We expect the highest standard of professionalism and conduct from our leaders, especially those entrusted with command authority.”

An armed forces spokeswoman told CP that Yurczyszyn was not in custody and had been reassigned to desk duties, working from home, until an administrative review of his file was finished.

In 2001, Yurczyszyn was accused of making a porn video of another soldier having sex with a civilian woman in a married-quarters apartment on CFB Kingston. The recording was made with a hidden camera without the woman's knowledge.

The video was then shown on so-called "porn and chicken" nights, which the court was told at the time involved military cadets renting hotel rooms and watching porn while eating chicken.

Yurczyszyn, then a junior lieutenant, was charged under the National Defence Act with disgraceful conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, CP said. The evidence suggested he played some part in the incident but the military judge hearing the case concluded there was not enough to support a conviction.

Two other officers — the one who had sex with the female university student and the one who lived in the apartment — were found guilty and dismissed from the military, CP reported.

Yurczyszyn went on to serve tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan before taking command of CFB Wainwright, about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, last June.

This is the most serious incident involving a senior officer since Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard's fast-track career was cut short by an affair.

Menard, who is married, pleaded guilty in 2011 to sleeping with a subordinate, a female corporal. The relationship began in Canada and continued in Kandahar, while he was commanding Canada's mission in Afghanistan. He had also tried to persuade the woman to cover up the affair, CP reported at the time.

Menard was fined $7,000, demoted and given a reprimand, the latter sanctions largely symbolic since the scandal had already pushed him out of the military.

The armed forces frown on sexual misconduct of any kind, most especially with subordinates, because it's seen as undermining military discipline.

But after the charges against Menard surfaced, the Globe and Mail reported hookups between male and female soldiers in Kandahar were known to happen.

Of course, the most extreme case of command misbehaviour was the shocking double life of air force Col. Russell Williams, who while commanding CFB Trenton, east of Toronto, led a double life as a rapist and serial killer.

[ Related: Serial killer Russell Williams reportedly moved to Quebec prison ]

Williams, who once piloted VIPs such as the Queen and the prime minister, pleaded guilty to killing two young women in their homes after sexually assaulting them, as well as dozens of other charges, including breaking-and-entering, sexual assault and forcible confinement. He's serving a life sentence.