Alberta Crown prosecution withdraws criminal charges against Revelstoke native Lt.–Col. Mason Stalker

The remaining charges against Lt.–Col. Mason Stalker, a prominent Canadian Forces commander and native of Revelstoke, were withdrawn in a motion forwarded by an Alberta Crown prosecutor in an Edmonton court this morning.

In July, 2015, the Department of National Defence announced that Stalker, who was 40 at the time, was facing a series of criminal assault charges of a sexual nature. They were:

• three counts of Sexual Assault in accordance with Section 271 of the Criminal Code of Canada;
• four counts of Sexual Exploitation in accordance with Section 153 of the Criminal Code of Canada;
• one count of Sexual Interference in accordance with Section 151 of the Criminal Code of Canada;
• one count of Invitation to Sexual Touching in accordance with Section 152 of the Criminal Code of Canada; and
• one count of Breach of Trust by a Public Officer in accordance with Section 122 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

In court proceedings in August, three of the charges were dropped, and on Nov. 4 the remaining seven charges were withdrawn by the prosecution, a National Defence spokesperson has confirmed.

Following the court development, a communications consultant working for Lt.–Col. Mason Stalker issued a statement from the officer proclaiming innocence.

“I have always maintained my innocence in this matter and am reassured that due process has resulted in the withdrawal of all charges. I am very grateful for my partner, family, friends and colleagues, who have always known I’m innocent and stood by me through this nightmare,” said Stalker in the statement. “Nothing has made me more proud than to serve the soldiers of the Canadian Forces: a privilege I take seriously. Although I may not be a commander anymore, I’m still a leader and I have always, and will always, believe in treating others with dignity and respect. I remain passionate that people should speak out when they need help.”

National Defence spokesperson Evan Koronewski confirmed the charges against Stalker had been withdrawn, and that Stalker would remain as an officer with the military.

At the time the charges were announced, Stalker was serving in the high profile position as Commanding Officer of 1 Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, an infantry battalion of over 700 soldiers.

Following the charges, Stalker was removed from command, but remained with the Canadian Forces. He was reassigned as a staff officer in the Third Division headquarters.

National Defence spokesperson Evan Koronewski confirmed that Stalker will remain with the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Based on the development today he will be employed in a manner consistent of his rank and qualifications and experience,” Koronewski said, adding that the situation was unfolding and that National Defence had no further comment. He said it would likely be a matter of weeks before National Defence had further comment, if any.

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench prosecutor Brian Caruk served as the prosecutor in the case. When his office was contacted, spokesperson Katherine Thompson of the Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta later replied with this written statement:

This is the information that we are able to provide on this case. The charges have been withdrawn in the J.M. Stalker case as the Crown concluded that there was no longer a reasonable likelihood of securing a conviction. The decision in this case was not related to or influenced by Jordan/time-to-trial concerns—it was due to there no longer being a reasonable likelihood of securing a conviction.

In general, the process is: to proceed with a prosecution, one of the tests the Crown must consider is if there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, which is common to prosecution services across the country. Crown prosecutors  are obligated to assess the merits of their cases on an ongoing basis. In general, after a careful and thoughtful review of the information gathered during the course of an investigation and as it proceeds through the courts, the Crown is duty-bound to not proceed with the case if she or he concludes there is no longer a reasonable likelihood of securing a conviction.

Barrister Fady Mansour represented Stalker in court today on behalf of the law firm, Bottos Law Group (BLG). Late Friday afternoon, lawyer Dino Bottos of BLG issued the following statement:

Lt. Col. Stalker has asserted his innocence from the moment these allegations were made against him. In this case, the investigation conducted by the military police was troubling because even a cursory examination of the evidence shows that the allegations could not possibly have been true. It simply accepted the complainant’s story without thinking critically about whether the allegations could be true.

The complainant’s allegations were inconsistent with evidence found in Lt. Col. Stalker’s personnel file. The Military Police could have easily examined Mr. Stalker’s personnel file and compared those facts with the allegations against him and come to the same conclusion, but unfortunately they did not. Lt. Col. Stalker has suffered greatly as a result of this poor investigation and is relieved that he can now put this behind him.  Ultimately, Mr. Stalker has had an exemplary military career and looks forward to returning to serving his country.

Stalker joined the Canadian Forces Infantry in June, 1993, and has served domestically and overseas. He has twice received Canada’s Meritorious Service Decoration and also the United States Bronze Star for his leadership role while serving in Afghanistan.

News of the charges against Stalker shocked many in Revelstoke. He is the most prominent actively serving Canadian Forces officer from Revelstoke, and has many friends from his youth live in the community. Two months before the charges against him became public in 2015, Stalker led the ceremonial review of the Rocky Mountain Rangers Cadet Corps (RMRCC) in Revelstoke. Stalker himself was a cadet with the RMRCC when he was a youth.