A Canadian navy member has been found guilty of sexual assault in connection with incidents aboard the HMCS Oriole in the summer of 2006.
James R. Levesque was the subject of a court martial that began in March and ended Friday. He was found guilty of one count of sexual assault, one count of assault and one count of uttering threats.
The charges stem from incidents that took place between June 1 and July 31, 2006, aboard a then-CFB Esquimalt-based ship, HMCS Oriole, where Levesque was serving as a boatswain.
The 21-person ocean cruiser, used primarily for seamanship training at CFB Esquimalt, was moved to the Atlantic fleet in Halfax in 2017.
Levesque is to be sentenced at CFB Esquimalt July 9. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
Christopher Lyons, public affairs officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, said in a statement that Levesque has been a regular force member of the Royal Canadian Navy since 1983.
On Monday, the Canadian government released a review of sexual harassment and misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence.
The review, based on submissions from 350 people and 4,000 documents, led to 48 recommendations to prevent and eradicate sexual assault within the military, including that Criminal Code sexual offenses be removed from CAF jurisdiction entirely and investigated and prosecuted by civilian police forces and criminal courts.
