Alberta woman launches $18M lawsuit in alleged sexual assault, wrongful dismissal from work camp
Leah McLeod alleges she was drugged, sexually assaulted, then dismissed from the job
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
An Edmonton woman who alleges that she was sexually assaulted at a northern Alberta work camp, then dismissed for reporting the abuse, is suing her former employer and the man she holds responsible for the attack.
Leah McLeod's $18-million lawsuit names ATCO, ATCO Frontec Corp. and Darrell Brian Tennant, a man who worked at the camp. The companies and Tennant deny all allegations and have called for the claim to be dismissed.
In 2008, McLeod was working as a cleaner at Barge Landing, north of Fort McMurray, when she reported to RCMP that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted by a camp cook.
McLeod, 44, said she is hoping for justice and to draw attention to the risk of sexual violence women face at remote work camps. She said that 16 years later, she still feels trapped by the trauma she endured.
"They discarded me," she said in an interview with CBC. "I just want accountability."
Tennant, McLeod's alleged attacker, was criminally charged in the assault but found not guilty in 2021. Seven months after his acquittal, RCMP formally apologized to McLeod for not adequately investigating her claims, and for failing to consider and preserve key evidence at the outset of the case.
DNA was recovered from McLeod's body, but Tennant was not tested and found to be a match until a decade later.
The case has seen police and the courts wrestle with issues of consent and the strength of DNA evidence when a victim's memory fails. McLeod's allegations ultimately triggered an internal RCMP probe that found police faltered in their initial investigation.
McLeod got court permission to lift a publication ban on her name.
The ordeal has changed her forever, McLeod said.
"When that level of trauma happens, and that level of shame and guilt is placed on you, the world doesn't make sense any longer and it makes the world a really scary place," she said in an interview.
In her statement of claim, filed May 16 in Edmonton Court of King's Bench, McLeod seeks $14 million in damages from the companies, for wrongful termination and negligence. She is also seeking $4 million in damages from Tennant for sexual assault and battery.
In a joint statement of defence, ATCO and ATCO Frontec deny the allegations and any liability. The companies say the assault was not formally reported and that the incident is alleged to have happened outside of work hours.
The companies say employees were subject to a "violence and harassment-free" policy and that managers at the camp, operated by Frontec, were trained in how to handle such complaints.
"We take these allegations very seriously," ATCO said in a statement to CBC News. "Subsequent to being made aware of this matter in 2019, ATCO conducted an internal investigation and supported the RCMP investigation."
In his statement of defence, filed July 9, Tennant describes the allegations as "high-handed, outrageous, scandalous and vexatious." He denies drugging and assaulting McLeod.
Tennant, and his lawyer in the civil case, declined to provide further comment on the allegations.
According to McLeod's statement of claim, she suffered lasting physical and mental damage from the incident, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
McLeod said she developed a fear of leaving the house and lived in isolation for years.
"There wasn't a moment where I wasn't afraid, being awake or asleep," she told CBC. "This took away my entire life."
With the criminal case at an end, McLeod said she is hopeful an outcome in the civil court will provide some relief.
"Maybe some change can come out of this," she said "It would mean absolutely everything. It would mean I could move on.
"I don't want to fight forever."
The alleged assault
During her time at the camp, McLeod lived in a coed dormitory trailer shared by about 50 workers.
"Such accommodations were provided by ATCO and did not prohibit the use of alcohol or drugs, or such prohibition was not communicated or enforced," she alleges in her statement of claim.
In an interview, she said she remembers sharing a mixed drink with Tennant on the evening of June 22, 2008, on the steps of the dormitory trailer. She believes she was drugged and assaulted that night.
In her statement of claim, she alleges that she regained consciousness in the man's bed hours later and ran into the hallway screaming "rape."
A security guard was called and McLeod later went to hospital in Fort McMurray, where she underwent a medical examination and reported the assault to RCMP, according to her statement of claim.
The following day, RCMP came to the camp and arrested the man. He was placed on leave from work, according to the claim.
McLeod later told her supervisor that she needed to leave the work camp as she was suffering from symptoms of PTSD, she says in her statement of claim. She alleges that her supervisor handed her a sticky note and told her to write down that she was leaving work for "personal reasons."
McLeod later discovered that ATCO had terminated her employment, while her alleged attacker soon returned to the job, the lawsuit alleges.
At the time, no charges were laid.
Acquitted
McLeod said she called RCMP in 2017 to inquire about her rape kit and plead with police to re-open the investigation. The case was re-opened in November 2018 and a DNA warrant was obtained, resulting in Tennant's arrest.
Tennant was charged in October 2019. In late 2021, following a provincial court trial in Fort McMurray, he was acquitted.
"It is not disputed that the accused's semen was detected in the complainant's vagina and rectum. How it got there is simply unknown," Judge Jeffrey Champion wrote in his decision.
"Conjecture leads the court in many directions but none of these conjectures meet the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
The judge found that McLeod was inconsistent in her testimony and lacked memory of the alleged attack.
She could not identify Tennant as the man she awoke with that morning and there was no evidence that she had been drugged, the judge found.
"She does not know how the semen got into her body, whether it could be consensual or non-consensual sexual activity, through transference or any other method," Champion wrote.
"It is simply not now knowable."
'Inadequate investigation'
McLeod filed a formal public complaint against the Wood Buffalo RCMP in August 2020. The RCMP conducted an internal investigation and later issued McLeod a formal apology for neglecting its duty to thoroughly investigate.
Supt. Mark Hancock, the officer in charge of the detachment, wrote in a June 1, 2022 report to McLeod that the constable in charge of the initial investigation neglected his duty. The officer failed to consider and preserve all the evidence, Hancock wrote.
The constable had been assigned lead investigator in the case in February 2009. By December of that year, the case had been closed and all exhibits destroyed, except for the DNA recovered from McLeod at hospital.
The RCMP probe found that the constable contributed to an "inadequate investigation" by failing to pursue a warrant to collect DNA from the suspect.
The constable believed a DNA swab — if found to be a match — would not advance the case or serve to prove McLeod's claims as she could not recall the attack, Hancock said in his report.
That was an error in judgment that resulted in the case being closed prematurely, Hancock wrote.
"While [the constable] commits errors in his decision-making and is responsible for the investigation not advancing further, I find that additional responsibility lies with the RCMP, as an organization, and its duty to train and properly support its investigators," he said in his report.
Training and oversight at the time were lacking, the investigation found.
The lead investigator had not received specialized training in sexual assault cases. RCMP also failed to take pictures of McLeod's injuries and did not ensure she was tested for drugs at hospital, the investigation found.
"There were systematic oversight shortfalls and a lack of consistent protocols in practice at the Wood Buffalo detachment with respect to this investigation that resulted in its premature conclusion," Hancock said in his report.
"Please accept my apology on behalf of the RCMP for the negative impact this had on the investigation, any hardship this may have caused you."
In a statement to CBC, the RCMP said there have been significant policy changes in how sexual assault claims are investigated since 2008. The force now has a dedicated group of officers who review all previous sexual assault investigations.
Of roughly 10,000 files from across Canada reviewed in 2016, 1,260 cases were found to have been misclassified, and 284 of them were identified for further investigation.
"Those results made it clear that changes were necessary in how the RCMP handle these investigations," RCMP said.
'A flawed system'
Mary Jane James, CEO of the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton, describes McLeod's case as deeply disturbing.
She said McLeod's claim echoes many other cases where victims have failed to prove their claims due to gaps in their memory. She said navigating Canada's adversarial criminal justice system can be just as painful to victims of sexual assault as the crime itself.
James notes that sexual assaults are among the most under-reported crimes. A Statistics Canada survey estimated that in 2019, only six per cent of sexual assaults were reported to police.
"The burden of proof is incredibly high," James said. "We have a flawed system."
She said the cases are challenging to litigate, often hinging on the testimony of the victim and an alleged attacker.
"For this woman to take this next step in her journey, which is appalling, takes a lot of courage. And she is representative of many, many people," James said. "Most alleged victims give up and walk away."
Ginger Gibson, director of research agency the Firelight Group, said the case is a reminder of the increased risk of violence women can face in industrial work camps.
Gibson and her group have researched the link between rural work camps and violence against women in remote communities across Canada including the Fort McMurray region.
The vast majority of camp workers are non-violent but the isolated, cramped conditions of camp life can act as a trigger for some, she said.
"We fly people in, take them out of their home, out of their family and out of their community and put them into an environment that is hyper-focused on production," she said.
"Conditions in camps can be like a pressure cooker."
Gibson said better gender parity is needed at work camps, and companies need to strictly enforce policies that ensure workers who report sexual violence are heard.
She said operators should also be compelled to publicly report sexual assault data.
"We don't want to normalize rape, but we want to normalize helping women tell their story."
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
