Former Durham cop charged after SIU relaunches 2003 sexual assault investigation

A Durham Regional Police officer's logo emblem is shown at a Bowmanville, Ont. shopping centre parking lot on Tuesday Feb. 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives

A former Durham Regional police officer is facing multiple sexual assault charges including pointing a firearm, after a victim came forward with “new information” from an incident that took place more than 20 years ago.

In a news release issued Thursday, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said Director Joseph Martino has reasonable grounds to believe former officer Kevin Seamons committed several criminal offences against a female in connection with incidents alleged to have occurred in 2003.

While the release itself offered few details, documents from the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services in 2006 related to disciplinary proceedings against Seamons suggest that the unnamed victim was 17-years-old.

It also goes on to suggest that at the time of the investigation, “Constable Seamons was suspended from duty, and his locker was searched. Nine photographs of a pornographic nature were found, as well as three police batons.”

At the time, the appeal was dismissed.

The investigation was reopened in 2024 after the complainant came forward with new details, the SIU said in Thursday’s release.

As a result of the investigation, police say, Seamons was arrested by RCMP Wednesday night on a Canada-wide warrant.

He was found in Morinville, Alta., and is charged with the following:

• six counts of sexual assault;
• one count of sexual assault with a weapon;
• seven counts of sexual exploitation;
• one count of pointing a firearm;
• six counts of breach of trust; and
• one count of assault with a weapon.

Police say he was later released on several conditions, including a condition prohibiting direct or indirect contact with the complainant.

None of the allegations has been tested in court. Officials note Seamons is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa on June 5.

The SIU said it will not provide further comment as the matter is now before the courts.