VANCOUVER — A provincial court judge has found former British Columbia RCMP inspector Tim Shields not guilty of sexual assault.
Shields, who was a high-profile spokesman for the RCMP, was accused of sexually assaulting a civilian employee in a washroom at the force's headquarters in 2009.
The complainant, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, told the trial that Shields led her to the unisex washroom before kissing and groping her.
The Crown had argued Shields had a "mistaken belief" about consent when he touched the woman's breasts, unbuttoned her pants and put her hands on his genitals.
Shields told the trial the woman enthusiastically participated in sex acts and then accused him of sexual assault.
He was charged in May 2016, five months after he retired following a suspension in the middle of a code of conduct investigation.
