Former Canadian Forces medic James Wilks has been found guilty on 25 charges stemming from the sexual assault of women at military recruitment sites in Ontario from 2003 to 2009, CBC reports.
The retired second-class petty officer was found guilty in a military court on 10 counts of sexual assault and 15 counts of breach of trust by a public officer, according to Chatham Daily News. He was found not guilty on only one charge of breach of trust.
From Chatham Daily News:
Sixteen women testified, saying Wilks asked they strip to their underwear and submit to breast exams between 2003 and 2009 in London and Thunder Bay.
Wilks demonstrated a “serious and marked departure” from appropriate behaviour and misused his position to get consent for the breast exams, presiding military Judge Lt.-Col Louis-Vincent d’Auteuil said.
"He did that for his own personal sexual gratification," said d'Auteuil, according to CBC.
At trial, prosecutor Maj. Dylan Kerr said most of Wilks' victims were young female military applicants, being abused as part of their first encounter with the military, CBC reports.
“It’s a serious case in terms of the trust that was imposed on Mr. Wilks,” Kerr told Chatham Daily News. “He had a position of trust and authority over some vulnerable persons, young females.”
Wilks' sentencing hearing begins in February, and he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.