WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of sexual assault allegations, and may affect those who have experienced sexual assault or know someone impacted by it.
Several Windsor, Ont., police employees — including a staff sergeant and superintendent — witnessed or were told about allegations of internal sexual assault years before the service said it became aware of them, according to claims in new documents obtained by CBC News.
The allegations revolve around Staff. Sgt. Ken Price, who faces four counts of sexual assault. The matter is making its way through the courts and a trial date has been set for July 7.
The complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, also filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) that includes the same allegations.
The HRTO documents contain 12 separate and detailed allegations between 2011 and 2021. Most of them involve sexual comments and touching while the complainant was at work.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Price’s lawyer, Dan Scott, told CBC News that his client “absolutely denies any wrongdoing.” He declined to comment further.
Windsor police previously said in a news release that it became aware of these allegations in January 2024 and they were “immediately addressed.” However, the HRTO complaint alleges many employees, including high-ranking officials, knew about the allegations well before last year.
“As in past practice, the police service board has no comment on any items that are in front of the human rights tribunal,” said Jo-Anne Gignac, chair of the Windsor Police Services Board, which provides oversight of the service.
Allegations date back to 2011
The Windsor Police Service fought to have the HRTO records kept confidential. But after a four-month process, the tribunal granted CBC News full access to a copy of the allegations, with the names of the complainant and witnesses redacted.
According to the complaint, the incidents began in April 2011, when Price and the complainant were working together, and he allegedly said, “You have a nice tight ass.”
The following year, things began to escalate and turn physical, the document says.
On one occasion, the complainant said, he approached her from behind at work and leaned up against the backside of her body.
“I could feel his nose pressed up against the back of my head,” the complaint states.
Price then allegedly put his hand on her hip and sniffed her hair, saying, “You smell so f–king good.”
“This incident felt so intrusive, and smelling me and doing that in front of other colleagues, I felt humiliated,” the complainant wrote in her complaint.
She goes on to say she felt “so uncomfortable and I was overwhelmed by the incident. It was very intimidating … I felt very violated.”
In 2012, the complainant said, Price pushed her back onto a couch at work and allegedly climbed on top of her.
“I tried to kick him off me,” she said in her complaint.
At one point, Price allegedly spread her legs apart and moved his body between them.
“He started to dry hump me like three to four times. I could feel what appeared to be his [penis],” the allegations read.
“I barely could defend myself. I felt paralyzed. I felt like I was in shock. I felt numb like I wanted to scream, but I could not,” the complainant says in the HRTO complaint.
‘It felt so degrading and humiliating’
During the alleged incident in 2012, the complainant said, a constable and staff sergeant witnessed the incident. Both names were redacted in the documents.
The complainant wrote that the witnessing staff sergeant told Price, in a joking manner, to “cut it out or else [the complainant] will not come back anymore.”
“It felt so degrading and humiliating, not just because of what he did, but because it was in front of other people,” the complainant said. “There were no consequences for him and he knew it.”
In February 2023, the complainant said in her complaint, she had a formal meeting with a group of Windsor police employees that was unrelated to these allegations.
But during that meeting with some unnamed individuals, including an inspector who’s now a superintendent, she disclosed the allegations of sexual assault.
“I was crying at the time and felt overwhelmed at the time,” the complainant said in her complaint.
The complainant said there was acknowledgment in the room of the obligation for those aware of such allegations to report them.
“It is required that all members of the Windsor Police Service be aware of their conduct and the conduct of others and report incidents of workplace harassment of which they become aware,” an internal workplace harassment directive states.
After the meeting, the complainant said, nobody reached out to her or offered her resources for victims of crime.
The Windsor police code of professional ethics directive says to “be alert to the needs of victims of crime and ensure support is obtained when needed.”
In January 2024, the complainant filed the HRTO complaint. In the same month, an investigation began by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which is mandated to investigate incidents involving municipal, regional and provincial police officers.
That led to the SIU laying the four sexual assault charges against Price on June 19, 2024.
On the same day, Windsor police issued a news release about the charges.
Windsor police said they stem from “an alleged workplace-related matter that was reported in January 2024 and immediately addressed by the Windsor Police Service.”
The service has not responded to a request for comment from CBC News seeking clarity on the complainant’s allegations that other employees were told or were witnesses well before January 2024.
Complainant nearly quit her job: complaint
Other allegations included in the HRTO complaint include an instance when Price allegedly put the victim’s hand on his crotch and tried to kiss her at work.
In a separate instance, the complainant said, Price grabbed her behind “in a violent manner” while another officer was in a workplace hallway.
These allegations forced her to stop doing certain parts of her job, causing her to almost quit and eventually taking a stress leave, according to the HRTO complaint.
The complainant is seeking $500,000 for lost wages, compensation for a loss of dignity and self-respect, as well as general damages.
She’s also looking for Price to get fired or demoted and for there to be more Windsor police workplace training on harassment.
None of these allegations have been proven. In July, Tribunals Ontario said the matter was making its way through HRTO processes and had not been scheduled.
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.
