Robert Bennett, former Fort St. James fire chief, guilty of sexual assault

Robert Bennett, a former fire chief from Fort St. James, B.C., has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three female firefighters.

Bennett was in charge of the volunteer fire department at the time. During the trial, the court heard how the department struggled with his alcoholism.

B.C. Supreme Court judge Glen Parrett said Bennett's presence at work in recent years was little more than a display of his intoxication.

Throughout the trial, the court heard how the 51-year-old reigned over what was described as a toxic environment at the fire hall where lewd comments were common.

In two of the cases, Bennett groped the women's breasts multiple times and made unwanted sexual comments. In the third case, he locked a female firefighter in a room where he exposed himself and tried to have sex with her.

The judge essentially threw out the testimony from one male firefighter, which contradicted the other evidence supporting the victims.

"Everybody told the truth, well almost everybody told the truth, and the evidence spoke for itself, so we got the right verdict," said Kirsten Rudolph, one of Bennett's victims. 

Bennett was released with conditions until his sentencing. A date has yet to be set.