Suspended Nova Scotia RCMP officer facing another sexual assault charge

A Nova Scotia RCMP officer charged last year with multiple counts of sexual assault is now facing an additional sexual assault charge for an incident that's alleged to have occurred while he was under investigation for previous misconduct.

In a release Monday, the province's Serious Incident Response Team said Const. William McNutt has been charged with sexual assault in relation to an investigation the police watchdog launched last November after the RCMP informed them a woman had alleged she was sexually assaulted by a police officer in May 2024.

McNutt, 40, is scheduled to appear in Shubenacadie provincial court on Aug. 11.

He is also set to go to trial in October and January in relation to two other cases in which he is facing multiple counts of sexual assault.

"These additional criminal charges against Cst. McNutt are extremely alarming and distressing," said Dennis Daley, commanding officer of the Nova Scotia RCMP, in a statement Monday.

Trial dates set for two separate sexual assault cases

In January 2024, McNutt was suspended without pay from his position with the East Hants District RCMP after a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by the officer in 2023.

The matter was referred to SIRT, which is responsible for investigating incidents involving police. The agency charged McNutt in July 2024 with three counts of sexual assault, one count of committing an offence involving choking, suffocation or strangulation, and one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

McNutt is scheduled to go to trial on those charges on Oct. 27 and Oct. 30 in Shubenacadie provincial court.

The Mounties have previously said that he was off-duty at the time of these alleged offences.

McNutt is also facing charges for an alleged incident dating back to before he became an RCMP officer in 2021. 

In December 2024, Cumberland County RCMP announced McNutt had been charged by SIRT with two counts of sexual assault stemming from an alleged offence in the summer of 2019 in Northport, N.S. 

He's currently scheduled to go to trial on those charges on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22 in Amherst provincial court.

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