Toronto Cops Accused of Botching Investigation of Repeated Sex Offender

The Toronto Police Service botched a sexual assault investigation so badly that the perpetrator was not arrested for five years, when another police force apprehended him for another sexual assault, according to documents obtained by VICE.

In 2010, Kissorie Allen, a previously convicted sex offender, forced a woman to perform oral sex on him in an apartment building stairwell after the pair met at a bar, according to court records.

After assaulting the woman, Allen pursued her as she tried to escape, fighting with her in the building's elevator, then in the lobby. Allen's criminal record, according to a court decision, included a 2009 sexual assault for "[touching] a woman in the crotch area while walking through a GO train station."

However, Toronto police initially allegedly failed to act on DNA evidence that linked Allen to the 2010 assault. Instead, it wasn't until Peel Regional Police arrested Allen "in 2016 for unrelated sexual offences," that he was arrested for the 2010 incident, according to Toronto police documents.

As a result, two Toronto police officers face internal disciplinary charges for allegedly failing to act after learning DNA evidence linked Allen to the 2010 assault.

Sgt. Paul Gauthier and Const. Leanne Marchen each face one count of neglect of duty and one count of discreditable conduct while they were working in the force's sex crimes unit—both administrative charges under Ontario's Police Services Act.

The charges against the officers are outlined in Toronto police documents released to VICE.

The officers remain on-duty, according to a Toronto police spokesperson.

The charges against the officers have not been tested at the Toronto disciplinary tribunal, but interviews, police documents, and court records suggest the sexual assault investigation languished for roughly five years.

According to a document outlining a charge against Gauthier, the then-detective "[was] notified [in 2011] that DNA developed from a crime scene sample…corresponded with a convicted offender on the National DNA databank identified as Kissorie Orlando Allen."

Because Gauthier "failed to ensure that a thorough and complete investigation was conducted…Allen was not apprehended in a timely fashion," according to a police document.

And when Peel Regional Police arrested Allen in 2016 "it was determined that the information originally received in 2011, by [Gauthier], was never acted on."

A Toronto police spokesperson confirmed the original crime under investigation occurred on October 6, 2010, which corresponds to court records for Allen's assault of a woman. Ikenna Michael Owoh, a lawyer for Allen, also confirmed that information. Allen was convicted in March 2017 of the October 2010 assault.

Owoh said the Crown presented DNA evidence, dating back to 2011, at Allen's trial for the 2010 assault. The defense did not challenge the DNA evidence.

"The issue was never the DNA; the issue was consent," Owoh said.

Questions remain about the crime and why Toronto police did not arrest Allen during the initial investigation.

"I believe I have a strong defence and I will be fighting these charges," Sgt. Gauthier told VICE in a brief phone interview. Gauthier would not comment in detail on the case. Const. Marchen and her lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

The charges against Marchen, who was a detective constable in the Toronto sex crimes unit in 2011, according to a police document, are similar—Marchen is also accused of failing to act on DNA evidence and ensure the arrest of Allen.

They also contain an allegation that Marchen failed to update a police report with her "investigative steps." The documents also state that Marchen learned DNA evidence linked Allen to the crime "on or about August 26, 2011," the same day she is said to have joined the investigation.

Allen's lengthy criminal record includes a conviction earlier this year for sexually assaulting a woman in Brampton on April 30, 2016 as well as past convictions for assault with a weapon, assault, and uttering threats.

Acting Staff Sgt. Joshua Colley said there was no indication that Allen was wanted in connection with the 2010 crime in Toronto when Peel Police arrested him for the April assault.

"At the time of his arrest…back in April 2016, there was nothing on CPIC [Canadian Police Information Centre] advising that he was wanted," Colley said Monday.

He was released on bail, and then arrested again by Peel cops on August 7 for sexual assault, forcible confinement, and uttering a threat to cause bodily harm two days prior. Allen was later acquitted of these charges. But it was while he was in custody that Peel police learned of the Toronto police investigation into the 2010 incident. He was subsequently arrested, on August 18, for the 2010 crime, according to Peel police spokesman Const. Harinder Sohi.

"All I can say is there's a lot more to the story," said Lawrence Gridin, Gauthier's lawyer. Gridin would not discuss the case in detail on the record.

Toronto criminal defence lawyer Daniel Brown said police may sometimes delay an arrest while bolstering a case against a suspect, though that tactic doesn't explain the lengthy delay in Allen's case.

Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray said in an email that investigations at the sex crimes unit can involve between two and 10 officers. Gray could not confirm the total number involved in the Allen case, but said a third officer has already been disciplined.

Details of that officer's discipline cannot be published, Gray said, because the officer did not go before the tribunal, which adjudicates formal disciplinary matters. The Toronto Police Service regularly settles disciplinary matters internally, without a public hearing.

Gauthier and Marchen's matters are back before the tribunal July 26.

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