N.B. RCMP officer found guilty of 4 charges, not guilty of sexual assault

A Woodstock-area RCMP officer has been found guilty of four of five charges against him.

Const. Osama Ibrahim, 29, was found guilty of assault, choking during an assault, carrying, using or threatening to use a weapon during an assault and breach of trust.

He was found not guilty of sexual assault.

The incidents occurred in late 2021 and early 2022 in Saint John, when Ibrahim was 27 and the victim, whose name is protected by a publication order, was 16.

With so much conflicting testimony about the events, provincial court Judge Kelly Winchester said it came down to the credibility of those who testified during a five-day trial in October and November.

Winchester said the victim was a "compelling, credible witness." She said the girl's parents were also credible.

Const. Osama Ibrahim, as he did every day of his trial, kept his face covered and hidden as he left the courthouse on Tuesday. (Graham Thompson/CBC)

Ibrahim, on the other hand, was often not believable, said Winchester.

She said his evidence "failed to strike a credible cord," particularly in light of videos entered as evidence and the testimony of other witnesses. One of those videos showed Ibrahim's "use of force is blatant," said Winchester on Tuesday as she explained her decision to the court.

Responding to that particular video, Ibrahim testified that he was just trying to calm the victim down.

Winchester called his version "not believable."

Ibrahim often testified that the physical interaction between them was simply "horseplay," but Winchester said the action caught on tape was "anything but playful." Nor were they the interactions of two people "trying to get to know each other," said Winchester.

Ibrahim met the victim in the fall of 2021. The girl caught Ibrahim's eye and he started spending a lot of time around the family, eventually expressing an interest in marrying her.

While the girl's parents said she was too young to contemplate marriage, they did give their blessing for Ibrahim to court her.

At the time, Ibrahim was stationed in Woodstock, but often took overtime shifts in Grand Bay-Westfield, which was chronically short-staffed.

According to the evidence heard at trial, Ibrahim, although he was hired to police the Grand-Bay Westfield area, would often spend the majority of his shift in Saint John with the victim and her family.

In fact, the GPS on his cruiser showed he spent up to eight hours of his 10-hour shift at the same location with the family. And during that time, Ibrahim would tell dispatch he was on "roving patrol" when his cruiser didn't leave the curb for hours at a time.

At trial, Ibrahim said it was an "honest mistake" to tell them the wrong code for what he was doing.

Once might be an honest mistake, said Winchester in her decision, but he often did it hourly for several hours at a time.

Osama Ibrahim was placed on admnistrative leave from the RCMP in March 2021 for a code of conduct investigation. The RCMP has not confirmed his current employment status. (Name withheld)

Winchester said Ibrahim was also "less than forthright" about other parts of his testimony.

He began by telling the court that he was on vacation, when he was really on administrative leave because he was being investigated for a code of conduct allegation.

When Crown prosecutor Christopher Lavigne asked him to clarify whether he was on vacation or on leave, Ibrahim said, "For me, it's the same thing."

Winchester also didn't believe Ibrahim's testimony that he never took his police-issued weapons out in front of the victim or her family — except one time that was captured on video of him putting handcuffs on the victim.

As for the sexual assault, Winchester said it was "clearly uncomfortable testimony" for the teenager.

The girl testified that Ibrahim would often manhandle her and then try to put his hands on her breasts. She said she would intercept his hands and tell him to stop.

Winchester noted there was no evidence to suggest that Ibrahim did not stop. As a result, said Winchester, "The court is left with a doubt that a sexual assault occurred."

Once Ibrahim was convicted, defence lawyer T.J. Burke asked for a pre-sentence report, and Lavigne asked that victim impact statements be prepared.

Given that Ibrahim comes from Egypt and likely has a second passport, Lavigne also asked that he be required to forfeit his passports to the court until he's sentenced.

Burke said Ibrahim's family has been in Canada for a while and has deep roots in Montreal. He said Ibrahim isn't a flight risk and becasue of his connection to the RCMP, "it would be easy for him to be picked up."

According to the RCMP, Ibrahim remains employed by the RCMP and has been on administrative leave since Feb. 22, 2022, "as a result of a separate code of conduct complaint that is currently being investigated by the RCMP Professional Standards Unit."

In an emailed response, Cpl. Hans Ouellette of the New Brunswick RCMP repeated information previously released.

"He was suspended with pay, as per the RCMP Act, effective June 3, 2022, as a result of the SiRT investigation which has also resulted in additional code of conduct allegations. As the employer, the RCMP will proceed with appropriate actions pending the outcome of the legal proceedings. "

Ibrahim will be back in court on Jan. 26 for sentencing.