Additional charges have been laid against the former lead of Alberta Health Services’ North zone. The Grande Prairie RCMP confirmed Thursday that 54-year-old Dr. Albert de Villiers has also been charged with invitation to sexual touching, voyeurism, and making sexually explicit material available to a child following a new report.
Dr. de Villiers was originally charged with sexual assault and sexual interference in June 2021 after an RCMP investigation into a report of sexual offences against a young child that allegedly took place between 2018 and 2020. The report was made on May 28, 2021, and the Grande Prairie RCMP Special Investigative Unit investigated with the help of the Grande Prairie Caribou Centre.
A trial by judge on those charges has been scheduled for January 10th to 12th, 2023 in Grande Prairie. The latest charges were laid on August 23, 2022 stemming from a report made on January 14th this year.
Police say it’s alleged the sexual offences involving a child happened between January 2017 and December 2019. The case was investigated with the help of Olds RCMP.
De Villiers, who currently lives in Kelowna, has been released on multiple conditions, including not being in the presence of anyone under the age of 16 without supervision. His next court date is set for September 12th in Grande Prairie.
No further updates from the RCMP are expected at this time.
De Villiers was the North Zone Medical Officer of Health and worked out of Grande Prairie until July 2020. He took on the role of chief medical health officer for B.C.’s Interior Health in August 2020 until his arrest in June 2021.