A former Kelowna officer, BC, RCMP, who admitted to having sent sexually explicit messages to a domestic assault victim, received a conditional discharge and has been put on probation for 12 months.
Sean Eckland, who served with the strength of the National Police from 2006 to 2024, declared himself guilty of a position to try to obstruct justice, after the messages were used by the victim’s assailant to benefit his case.
Eckland, 50, was the principal investigator in a case of domestic assault in 2018 when he began to exchange sexually explicit messages with the victim for several months and sent him a photo of his penis, according to an agreed statement of facts included in his decision of sentence.
Eckland then asked the victim, who cannot be identified due to a publication prohibition, to eliminate his text messages. Nor did he reveal his communication to his superiors or the lawyers who process the case of the victim, according to the declaration of facts.
“The actions of Eckland at the beginning of the relationship of text messages … and then not reveal to his superiors was a serious period in his trial,” wrote the judge of the provincial court of Kelowna, Clarke Burnett in his decision this week.
“Eckland has broken the confidence that the community put on it as a police officer.”
Without criminal record
Eckland, who joined RCMP in 2006, resigned from force last year. The upper condition means that it will not have a criminal record.
Burnett said that while Eckland’s actions were “serious”, they did not rise to the same level as other officers who have committed similar crimes.
“Society is best for Mr. Eckland to move forward without the weight of a criminal history in the shoulder[s]”Burnett said.
“Its ability to be a valuable and contributor to your community will not be hindered as a result.”
Impact on the case of assault
Eckland’s inappropriate relationship with the victim was first informed by Global News.
The victim’s boyfriend, who was accused of aggravated aggression, sexual aggression, pronouncing threats and forced confinement, realized the sexting and used that information to apply to withdraw his guilt supplications, according to the declaration of facts.
The court granted the boyfriend’s application and was able to change his initial aggravated assault and his assaults of illegal confinement, aggravated assault and threats. Other charges against him stayed.
In Eckland’s trial, the crown asked the judge for a three to six months prison sentence to receive in the community.
But Burnett said there were several mitigating factors that led to the minor prayer, including that Eckland suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSP) at the time of crime.
The court heard that Eckland was diagnosed with PTSD in 2016 and continues to receive treatment for it.
“They have provided me with medical evidence that supports the finding that their decision -making at that time was very affected by this medical condition. This medical finding decreases its moral guilt,” said Burnett.
CBC News has communicated with the RCMP to comment.
