Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
A former Niagara police officer who admitted to sexually abusing 11 women at his side massage business will serve an 18-month sentence at home.
David Kukoly, 54, who was a veteran officer at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual assault. He admitted to similar abuse against an additional six victims in an agreed statement of facts. He was sentenced on June 21 at the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Ont.
Kukoly was not a registered massage therapist but still operated his “Massage by Dave” business from his Port Colborne home using a different last name.
Under the premise of providing massages, he inappropriately touched 11 women without their consent between 2016 and 2018, wrote Justice Richard Blouin in his sentencing decision.
Justice Blouin described some of the assaults as “harrowing” and in a “closed, isolated room” with “a significant impact on the psychological health” of victims, but decided against the Crown’s request for a four-year prison sentence.
Instead, the judge said, a year and a half of house arrest was appropriate given his “long record of service to the community” as a police officer for over 28 years, and because he “stepped up to the plate” and pleaded guilty. His admission of guilt avoided a trial and victims having to relive his crimes in court.
Judge concerned for accused’s safety in jail
However, Kukoly’s sentence is “unbelievable” and “devastating” for sexual assault victims, said Brock University Prof. Robyn Bourgeois, an expert in gender based violence and a sex trafficking survivor.
She said it is “disturbing” that more weight wasn’t given to the lasting psychological harm experienced by victims.
Robyn Bourgeois is an associate professor in Brock University’s Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies. She says Kukoly’s sentence is ‘devastating’ for survivors of sexual assault. (Brock University)
“These are the cases that drive sexual violence in this country,” Bourgeois said. “Survivors are unlikely to come forward because of the law’s failure to take their trauma seriously, which means perpetrators evade capture and continue to sexually abuse people.”
Justice Blouin also wrote in his decision that house arrest will ensure Kukoly can take care of his high blood pressure and step children, and avoid being harmed in prison.
“He would be an obvious target for some other inmates who do not consider police officers to be their friends,” Blouin wrote. “In my view, the potential risk of harm, perhaps serious harm, is obvious.”
Sexual assault ‘life changing’ for survivors
Nicole Pietsch, an advocate with the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, said this decision suggests preferential treatment for police officers and Kukoly should have taken the risks of imprisonment into consideration when he sexually assaulted his clients.
“If an actual massage therapist had done the very same, perhaps that person would have gone to prison,” Pietsch said.
In Canada, 12 per cent of sexual assaults reported to police lead to a criminal conviction and seven per cent result in a custodial sentence, according to Statistics Canada.
“This can leave a really negative impression on survivors who do choose to go through the criminal justice system because they feel they may not be getting the results they wished for,” Pietsch said.
“And for survivors, it can be really life changing to be sexually assaulted, particularly by someone who is in a trusted position.”
Niagara police chief Bryan MacCulloch said in a statement he is aware of Kukoly’s sentence but as the case is still within the timeframe of a potential appeal “it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
He did not answer CBC Hamilton’s question as to when Kukoly was discharged from service, but said it’s important to note he’s no longer a police officer.
The Ministry of the Attorney General did not provide a comment on if the Crown will be appealing the sentencing decision.
Kukoly’s defence lawyer did not return a request for comment.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can find support here.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
