Former head of military personnel charged after sexual assault investigation
Global News
The Canadian Forces is facing what experts have deemed an existential crisis over sexual misconduct allegations against multiple senior leaders.
Vice-Adm. Haydn Edmundson has been charged following a military police investigation into a sexual assault allegation against him.
Military police laid one count of sexual assault and one count of indecent acts against Edmundson on Tuesday. The case will be handled through the civilian court system.
Edmundson, who had served as the military’s head of personnel, was placed on indefinite leave in the spring as the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) looked into the allegation.
He was later replaced by Lt.-Gen. Steven Whelan, who stepped aside in October after the launch of a sexual misconduct investigation into him.
READ MORE: Head of military personnel on indefinite leave amid sexual assault investigation
The investigation was opened after CBC News first reported that Edmundson was being accused of raping a subordinate woman officer in 1991.
That investigation followed exclusive reporting by Global News in February into allegations of sexual misconduct into other senior leaders in the Canadian Forces, which prompted parliamentary committee investigations and an independent, external review into the scope of the problem.
Military experts have deemed the sexual misconduct crisis as an existential issue for the Canadian Forces.