B.C. First Nations chief Ed John charged with sex assault
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2019 18:13:11 +0000
Prominent B.C. indigenous leader Edward John has been charged for sexual assault alleged to have happened more than 40 years ago in Prince George, according to the BC Prosecution Service.
John, hereditary chief of the Tl’azt’en Nation and former B.C. minister for children and families, is facing four counts of having sexual intercourse with a female person without her consent, according to a statement Thursday from the BCPS.
Lawyer Michael Klein has been appointed as a special prosecutor in the case.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred between March 1, 1974 and September 15, 1974.
John is scheduled to appear in Prince George Provincial Court on Dec. 10.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
John has served in many leadership roles in the province and in Canada.
John is currently serving his eleventh consecutive term as an elected leader on the First Nations Summit Political Executive. He is a former member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and was involved in the development of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the U.N. in 2007.
More to come…