Officer convicted of on-duty rape no longer with Royal Newfoundland Constabulary

Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove, centre, of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is shown in court in St. John's on Friday Nov. 12, 2021. THE CANAIDAN PRESS/Sarah Smellie

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says an officer convicted in 2021 of raping a woman while on duty is no longer with the force.

A police spokesman could not say if Carl Douglas Snelgrove resigned or if he was fired, since the force cannot comment publicly on human resources matters.

Snelgrove was suspended without pay in 2015 when he was first charged with sexually assaulting the woman, but he remained an officer with the RNC.

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Provincial legislation says the force's public complaints process, which would determine if Snelgrove lost his job, could not begin until all legal proceedings had ended.

That occurred in late February when the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal of Snelgrove's conviction.

Spokesman Const. James Cadigan said in an interview that when the country's highest court made its decision, the force's public complaint process began and hearings were scheduled.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2024.