The Ottawa Police Service says an officer facing allegations of sexual assault involving minors is now suspended without pay.
Const. Charlene Abella was charged by the Peel Regional Police Service last week with three counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference and one count of sexual exploitation.
The alleged incidents happened in March, while the officer was off duty, according to police. Peel Regional Police conducted the investigation because the alleged incidents fell outside the mandate of the Special Investigations Unit.
Abella was initially suspended from duty with pay, but the Ottawa Police Service said it would be monitoring all developments in the case closely and was “fully prepared” to follow Ontario legislation that allows for suspending a sworn member without pay.
Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act lays out several reasons for suspending an officer without pay, including if the officer is accused of serious offences that were not committed in relation to the performance of their duties or if a failure to suspend the officer without pay would bring discredit to the reputation of the police service.
The Ottawa Police Service did not give a reason for suspending Abella without pay. A one-sentence news release reads, “After reviewing the conditions of judicial release, Charlene (JenJen) Abella has been suspended without pay in accordance with the provisions of the Community Safety and Policing Act.”
The charges against Abella have not been proven in court.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Toula Mazloum
