Woodstock RCMP officer charged with theft after evidence, including cash, goes missing

A Woodstock RCMP officer has been charged by the Serious Incident Response Team in connection with missing evidence, including cash. 

According to a news release from SIRT, Const. Christopher Sorensen, a member of the RCMP's provincial crime reduction unit, was charged on Monday with four counts of theft and one of breach of trust by a public officer. 

The release said SIRT was asked on April 15 to investigate "missing and unaccounted for exhibits, including cash, that had been previously seized in the course of an investigation."

Sorensen will appear in provincial court in Woodstock on Oct. 30.

When reached by phone Tuesday, SIRT director Erin Nauss declined to provide other details since the matter is before the courts. 

SIRT is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer.

The Nova Scotia-based response team investigates incidents in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

A year ago, after New Brunswick finalized an agreement with Nova Scotia to expand to New Brunswick, SIRT opened an office in Fredericton. Nauss said the lead investigator on the Sorensen file is based out of the Fredericton office.

Since January, SIRT has received 78 new files — with 39 cases from Nova Scotia and 39 cases from New Brunswick, said Nauss. 

All SIRT investigations "are under the direction and control of an independent civilian director, who has the sole authority to determine if charges should be laid at the conclusion of an investigation," according to the news release on the Woodstock RCMP incident. 

Officer suspended with pay

Sorensen, meanwhile, has been suspended with pay, said Cpl. Hans Ouellette, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick RCMP. 

"These are serious allegations, and the New Brunswick RCMP is treating them as such," Ouellette wrote in an emailed response to CBC. 

He said a separate Code of Conduct investigation is also being conducted by the RCMP's professional responsibility unit. 

"RCMP members are expected to hold themselves to a high moral and professional standard. We understand and respect the impact it can have on public trust when there is any allegation that a member has not met the standard that our communities deserve," said Ouellette.

He said the RCMP are "fully co-operating" with the SIRT investigation.