Former Interior Health top doctor officially loses medical licence after sex crimes conviction

WARNING: This article contains references to sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​abuse or know someone affected by it. 

The former chief medical health officer for B.C.'s Interior Health Authority has officially lost his licence to practise medicine after he was convicted two years ago of sexually interfering with a child in Alberta. 

Albert de Villiers was found guilty in Grande Prairie, Alta., in February 2023 of repeated sexual offences against a young boy over a two-year period in 2018 and 2020. The judge sentenced him to five and a half years in prison. 

Prior to his arrest in 2021, de Villiers worked in Kelowna, B.C., as the top doctor for Interior Health, a position he assumed in August 2020.

• Former B.C. public health officer sentenced to 5½ years for sexually abusing Alberta child
• Former top doctor in B.C. Interior paid $361K despite sex charges

Before working in public health in British Columbia, de Villiers was a medical officer of health for Alberta's north zone for 16 years.

Apart from the 2023 conviction, De Villiers was also charged in a separate case in Alberta of one count each of voyeurism, sexual touching and making sexually explicit materials available to a child.

The charges were withdrawn in September 2023, and a peace bond was issued due to challenges with the case, according to Alberta's Crown Prosecution Service. 

'Voluntarily resign and surrender his licence'

Now, more than two years after his conviction, de Villiers has officially lost his licence to practise medicine.

On Tuesday, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) released a public notice stating de Villiers agreed "to voluntarily resign and surrender his licence as a registrant of CPSBC," effective March 1, 2023.

"The Inquiry Committee concluded that Dr. De Villiers's conduct was egregious and determined that his irrevocable commitment to resign as a registrant of CPSBC and to never reapply for registration in British Columbia or any other jurisdictions was appropriate in the circumstances," the college said in the public notice. 

The CPSBC said the inquiry committee and de Villiers agreed to resolve all matters in a consent agreement process with an effective date listed as May 2, 2025.

CBC News has asked the CPSBC for an explanation on the timing of the public notice and its release more than two years after both de Villiers' criminal conviction and his reported agreement to surrender his medical licence, but the college has not yet responded. 

'Moral blameworthiness is high'

During his sentencing hearing in June 2023, Court of King's Bench Justice Shaina Leonard told the court de Villiers groomed a seven-year-old Grande Prairie boy through a chain of events from sleepovers to private phone calls, and sexually abused the boy on five to eight occasions over two years.

"The offender's moral blameworthiness is high," Leonard said during the hearing. 

"The offender exploited the victim's vulnerability by taking advantage of the offender's position of trust as a trusted friend of the family."

Interior Health released de Villiers from his job shortly after his conviction in 2023, but he earned $361,000 from the health authority during the 2021-2022 fiscal year alone, despite being on leave or desk duty for several months while awaiting trial. 

If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​