OttawaAn Ottawa police superintendent accused three years ago of grooming and sexually assaulting a female recruit — a case that collapsed five months ago when the complainant backed out of the process — is now facing internal discreditable conduct charges.Complainant no longer wanted to participate in prosecution, court heard in JuneKristy Nease · CBC News · Posted: Nov 20, 2025 1:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Suspended Supt. Mark Patterson of the Ottawa Police Service, seen here in 2018, now faces internal disciplinary charges under the Police Services Act. He was previously accused of grooming and sexually assaulting a female recruit, but those charges were withdrawn. (Kristy Nease/CBC)An Ottawa police superintendent accused three years ago of grooming and sexually assaulting a female recruit — a case that collapsed five months ago when the complainant backed out of the proceeding — is now facing internal disciplinary charges.Supt. Mark Patterson is facing three counts of discreditable conduct. It’s alleged that he:Used his position to inappropriately influence the Ottawa Police Service recruitment process.Entered into an unprofessional intimate relationship with a candidate participating in the recruitment process.Engaged in a sexual act with a member of the public without her consent.He made his first appearance Thursday and is next scheduled to appear in December.The withdrawn criminal charges against him were two counts of sexually assaulting the woman, as well as breach of trust for “abusing his position of authority to engage in sexual activity.” The assistant Crown prosecutor assigned to the case explained briefly in Superior Court in June that the complainant was “no longer interested in participating in the criminal process.” Without a willing witness, the Crown had no reasonable prospect of conviction and asked the judge to withdraw the charges.Patterson was suspended with pay in June 2022. He has so far collected over $500,000 in salary, according to the province’s annual public sector salary disclosure, colloquially known as the Sunshine List.Ottawa police Supt. Mark Patterson in a photo from his Instagram account, which was made private after his suspension in June 2022. (markypatts__/Instagram)Chief called allegations ‘very serious’Defence lawyer Mark Ertel, who represented Patterson in court and is representing him for the disciplinary charges, told CBC News on Thursday that his client maintains his innocence, plans to plead not guilty and expects to be exonerated. He declined to say whether Patterson had any sexual relationship with the woman, citing the ongoing disciplinary proceeding.The internal charges under the Police Services Act were the result of a chief’s complaint.When the criminal charges against Patterson were announced in 2022, CBC News obtained an email sent by Chief Eric Stubbs to the rest of the OPS.”I know this information is very concerning to all of us and the community we serve,” Stubbs wrote. Patterson had been “immediately suspended” when the allegations were made, he added.”Our service takes all allegations of sexual assault and harassment very seriously. We have no tolerance of either. It is damaging and debilitating to all those impacted,” Stubbs said at the time, without releasing any details of the allegations.”The allegations and charges in this case are very serious and it is important that we respect the judicial process and for all the facts to be heard.”Patterson previously in charge of recruitingPatterson has been a police officer for 28 years. At the time of his suspension he was superintendent of the intelligence directorate and oversaw units such as intelligence and surveillance. Previously, he had been a public-facing senior officer in charge of recruiting new officers to the service.CBC learned the allegations were related to his time in recruiting — specifically a sexual relationship Patterson was alleged to have had with a woman he recruited to be a police officer after meeting her through a local gym.That gym was the scene of a January 2019 Ottawa police “jobposal,” where police formally offer a new recruit a job. In that video, posted to social media, Patterson showed up at the gym in uniform to offer a recruit a job.”She said YES!” an Ottawa police Twitter account wrote.Patterson’s personal Instagram account, which was made private after his suspension, shows he posted congratulatory messages with the pictures of at least five female police recruits who went from the gym to the police service. ABOUT THE AUTHORCBC Ottawa senior writer Kristy Nease has covered news in the capital for 16 years, and previously worked at the Ottawa Citizen. She has handled topics including intimate partner violence, climate and health care, and is currently focused on the courts and judicial affairs for all platforms. Get in touch: kristy.nease@cbc.ca, or 613-288-6435. Worried? Try kristyneasecbc@proton.me instead.Selected stories.Follow her on X.With files from Shaamini Yogaretnam
Police superintendent whose sex assault case collapsed now faces disciplinary charges
