An RCMP officer facing several assault and sex-related charges related to a child abuse investigation in the Ottawa area will remain in custody for at least several more days.
The 41-year-old man arrested Tuesday made a brief court appearance Friday where he was remanded in custody to next week. The man’s wife has also been charged.
The couple cannot be identified as the court imposed a sweeping publication ban. Police are calling it one of the worst cases of child abuse they have ever seen.
Police told CTV News a young boy was allegedly shackled and handcuffed in the basement of an Ottawa home for months. By Wednesday morning, the boy was being treated in hospital.
Police say the man has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault, three counts of assault with a weapon, one count of aggravated sexual assault, one count of failing to provide the necessities of life and one count of forcible confinement.
His 34-year-old wife was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of failing to provide the necessities of life and one count of forcible confinement.
Sources say the investigation was launched after an 11-year-old child was found outdoors in a residential neighbourhood.
“At Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario we are told they were absolutely shocked by the condition of the child,” CTV Ottawa anchor Graham Richardson told News Channel.
A man who lives in the neighbourhood where the alleged abuse took place said he saw a young boy from his window on Tuesday, trying to open the outside water tap of his house, and assumed he was a trespasser.
“I gave him water,” said Wilson Wong, who described the boy as resembling a “little old man” with sunken cheeks.
After getting water, the boy walked away. Wong said he’s had trouble sleeping ever since.
“Now I realize I should have done something,” he said.
Due to the publication ban, it’s unclear how the police were notified, but Richardson said it’s possible neighbours contacted authorities.
Police visited the home, Richardson said, and they saw “some things that caused them grave concern.”
Sources have said it appears the case involves more than one child.
The charged officer, who has not been on active duty since 2011, lasted worked in the RCMP’s counterterrorism unit.
“It is just a terrible set of circumstances,” RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson told CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson. He declined to comment further as the case is before the courts.
The woman charged was also expected in court Friday.
With files from The Canadian Press
