Penticton Mountie pleads guilty after her affair lands in court
Credit to Author: Ken Bradshaw| Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:41:55 +0000
A former Penticton RCMP officer has pleaded guilty to criminally harassing the wife of another local Mountie while still on the force.
Rachelle Blanchard, who held the rank of constable before leaving the RCMP in May 2018, entered the plea in June 2019 and was due to be sentenced Monday in provincial court in Penticton.
However, the case was adjourned after resident Judge Michelle Daneliuk declined to hear it because she could in the future be required to take testimony from Const. Martin Degen in unrelated matters. Degen isn’t charged in Blanchard’s case, but court heard his character will be questioned, which could taint Daneliuk’s view of him.
Details of the offence to which Blanchard pleaded guilty weren’t read out in court, but are contained in a separate civil lawsuit filed by Degen’s now-ex-wife, Gail McDiarmid.
The lawsuit claims Degen and Blanchard began a relationship in 2015, and starting in October 2016, Blanchard began harassing McDiarmid via text message.
Blanchard “increased her harassment by sending packages to the matrimonial home of (McDiarmid). The packages included children’s books entailing how to talk to your children about divorce, intimate clothing and lubrication,” according to the lawsuit.
McDiarmid claims Blanchard’s behaviour escalated by filing false complaints about McDiarmid at McDiarmid’s workplace, and later purchasing a home just five doors down from McDiarmid in Summerland.
Blanchard also allegedly impersonated McDiarmid and signed her up on a dating website, then sent a stranger to McDiarmid’s home for a date with the unsuspecting McDiarmid.
Finally, Blanchard allegedly entered McDiarmid’s locked garage and left a set of keys on the driver’s seat of McDiarmid’s vehicle.
“These keys were identified as potential keys to a gun locker,” the lawsuit states.
McDiarmid claims her eight-year marriage to Degen ended in June 2018, and that prior to their split, Degen had been providing Blanchard with McDiarmid’s personal information “in order for (Blanchard) to impersonate and harass the plaintiff.”
“Due to Mr. Degen’s failure to participate in the investigation regarding (Blanchard) and his involvement, Mr. Degen was charged under the Police Act for his actions regarding the harassment” against McDiarmid, the lawsuit alleges.
McDiarmid is suing both Blanchard and Degen for unspecified damages, alleging their actions caused her psychological and emotional harm, plus economic loss because she had to relocate.
Blanchard has not filed a response to the civil claim.
Degen’s response claims his relationship with Blanchard lasted from fall 2015 to spring 2016, and he has had limited contact with her since.
He claims he was “unaware of any alleged intimidation, threats or harassment” by Blanchard towards McDiarmid, and was not involved in any such behaviour.
Degen’s response also states he was investigated by the RCMP on both criminal and internal charges, and was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
He goes on to suggest McDiarmid launched her lawsuit “as a result of her not reaching a satisfactory monetary settlement” in a separate family law matter.
Charges against Blanchard, which also include mischief and personation, were sworn in May 2018.
Blanchard “chose to end her career” as a Mountie that same month, while Degen is currently on administrative leave, RCMP spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said in an email Monday.
A new date for Blanchard’s sentencing in front of an out-of-town judge is to be set today.